Operation: Zutara
by Earlie Birdie
Summary: Anyone could see that those two were in love with each other. Except for them, of course. So, Toph takes the initiative and fills in for Cupid to give them a little push and Aang just tags along for the ride. Taang. Zutara. Modern day AU.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N:_** I didn't think that I would be starting up another story so soon, especially since I just finished one. But, _**Jhelle**_ gave me a prompt and I loved the idea so much that I just had to write it!

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Operation: Zutara - Chapter One

_**.**_

"Want to get in trouble with me, Carlos?"

― Simone Elkeles, Rules of Attraction

_**.**_

Beating around the bush was Toph's biggest pet peeve. Whenever she had a problem, she would just approach the situation head on, with no stalling or stammering. The longer one stalled, the longer the problem and situation would just drag on. Toph Beifong _hated_ beating around the bush. So, one could only imagine how annoyed she got watching other people do it. Hence, the problem at hand.

For the past two hours, Toph was subject to watching the very practice of 'beating around bushes' for herself. Worst of all, it was two of her friends and they were absolutely _perfect_ at it. Even worse than that? She was at Aang's job, so she couldn't even cause a scene -_ and she would if she could_ - or else she would get him fired.

Zuko said something that Toph could only guess was _funny_ from the way that Katara giggled. Then again, Katara was giggling a lot more, lately. Especially around him. Those two were born to beat around the bush.

Katara _touched_ his arm.

Zuko did that _stupid_ hair flip thing.

Katara _blushed_ and _twirled_ her hair around a finger.

Oh, weren't they just _adorable_? Toph came to the teashop to meet up with Katara and study for that big test she had at the end of the week. Toph wasn't much of a studier, so Katara volunteered to help out. Of course, Zuko just had to show up and distract her. Now, not only was Toph going to fail her test, but she was also stuck watching them until Katara was ready to leave because she was her ride home.

Toph unknowingly sneered and scared off a customer. It was _disgusting_.

A whistle sounded from behind her. "Careful, T. Keep staring and someone might mistake you for being jealous."

Had she said that out loud? "Oh, shut up, baldy."

"Don't get snappy with me just because I called you out, you little brat."

"I'm not little, I'm-"

"Funsized," they said in unison before he continued. "I know. Everyone knows."

A pause.

"You're still a brat, though."

Toph spun around in her seat at the counter to glare at her friend. "Hello, Aang."

From behind the counter, he grinned at her. "Hey, T."

Her glare wavered a bit before she rolled her eyes. She couldn't stay mad at him; he was her best friend ever since she was three and he was four, wreaking havoc on everyone and everything that crossed their path. Anyone who didn't know them wouldn't have been able to guess that because all they did was argue, yell, insult, and scream at each other. But, everyone who did know the troublesome duo would also know that all of their little jabs were all yelled, screamed, punched, and eye rolled with the utmost love.

She propped her elbows up on the counter and rested her chin in her palms. "I didn't know that you were working today."

He took a towel from the pocket of his apron and began wiping the counter down, most likely to give off the appearance that he was working. "I didn't know that I had to inform you of every detail in my life." When she smiled a bit, he looked around. "Iroh's been complaining about you. He says that you're a distraction."

Her smile grew into a grin. "That old man loves me." Which was true. No one could deny that no matter how brash she was around him, Iroh would never stop treating her as his kin. Then, she shrugged. "It's not my fault that you've got bad work ethic."

The corners of his mouth quirked up a bit. "Who says that I was talking about me? T., you scared off three customers in thirty minutes. I'd say that's a new record."

"It's not my fault. Really." When Aang gave her a look, she shook her head. "Those two are driving me crazy. I came with _Katara_ to study with _Katara_, but _Katara_ managed to find _Zuko_ in the midst of all of these customers."

Aang smiled a bit. His friend wasn't usually this dramatic, but he understood. Today was a busy day. It was a bit strange how Katara managed to spy Zuko out from all of these people.

"Now," Toph continued frantically. "I'm going to fail my test and be stuck here until they finish _beating around the bush_ because those two are punks and _Katara_ is my ride home. I mean, how hard is it to tell someone that you like them? Especially when the person that you like likes you back just as equally or even more. If I was Katara, I would have already taken care of that. Zuko's hot."

Aang felt a pang of jealousy. Toph was his best friend, but who wouldn't be jealous hearing about how hot someone else was? "You call him 'princess'."

"So, he's a little pretty," she said with a shrug and Aang chuckled. "I'm telling you. They need to get it over with."

Aang peaked behind her and saw Katara and Zuko sitting at a table, huddled close. Katara did that giggle thing and Zuko seemed to turn a bit redder than he already was.

Aang was impressed. He was already pretty red. "It's not always that easy. Not everyone is as reckless as Toph Beifong. Besides, don't girls usually find that kind of thing cute?"

Toph gave him a look.

Aang quickly nodded. Right. Toph wasn't like the stereotypical girl that the media tried to market and she always made sure that he knew it. He was just lucky that he caught himself or else he would have gotten a speech. "Well, it's not like you can do anything about it. What are you going to do? Play cupid?"

Toph's eyebrow jumped.

Aang noticed. He sighed and shook his head a bit desperately. "Toph, please."

She ignored him. Playing cupid? That was probably the best idea Aang had ever come up with. Matchmaking wasn't usually her thing, but this would be a piece of cake. It wouldn't be much work because those two were already matched up. All she had to do was give them a little push and provide opportunities for them to finally confess and stop beating around the bush. "Like cupid."

Aang caught that as well. "T.," he said cautiously.

She gave him 'that look'. 'That look' that told him that there was going to be an adventure and he was going to be a part of it. Whether he wanted to or not. "By definition, a friend is someone who acts as a supporter of a cause, organization, or country by giving financial or other help. I am an active supporter of this cause and I will give help."

There she went - just quoting dictionaries all willy nilly, again. He had to stop her. "Toph, seriously. Zuko's twenty four and Katara's twenty two. We shouldn't be in their business."

"Aang, Zuko is _twenty four_ and Katara is _twenty two,_ and they still can't get their act together. We have every right to be in their business and play cupid."

"You can't keep taking my words and using them against me."

"What else are best friends for?"

Aang glared at her. At nineteen years old, Toph never lost that spark of mischief that she always had when they were younger. In all honesty, Aang thought that she would never lose it and that she would just be trouble for her future husband. "You know, you're more trouble than you're worth?"

She grinned. That was what he always said before he caved in. "I'm a girl. That's my job."

And that was always her response. Aang felt his own grin growing. As much as he tried to chastise Toph for her reckless ways, he had to admit that she knew how to have fun. Plus, those two were beginning to get on his nerves, as well. "Maybe you won't be such a troublesome wife."

She snorted. "We both know that's a lie."

At least she knew it. He checked his watch. Check out time was nearing. "I'll drop you home. It doesn't look like those two will be done anytime soon."

"And you'll help me study."

"Deal."

"Then, 'Operation: Zutara' is a go."

He sighed. Goodness, she really was trouble; she had already come up with a couple name and everything. But, she was his best friend. If he wasn't going to be her partner in crime, who else would take his spot? And _live_? "Then, 'Operation: Zutara' is a go."

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_**A/N: **_"You're more trouble than you're worth."

"I'm a girl. It's my job."

- Tamora Pierce, Street Magic


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **_I'm so glad that you guys like it so far! Normally, I would answer reviews, but I don't really have time anymore. _-insert sad violin tune here-_ Even though I can't answer them, just know that I really do appreciate them all!

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Operation: Zutara - Chapter Two

_**.**_

"Houston, we have a problem."

― James Lovell

_**.**_

During her senior year, Toph had been granted a scholarship to study Architecture in college. Of course, she accepted it wholeheartedly - after all, she loved to build, sculpt, and draw, and she did it all flawlessly. Her first year of college had been a rude awakening. She had made friends and adapted well into the environment, but the problem lied with the classes that she took. Apparently, in college there were _other_ courses to take in order to _become_ an architect. The one class that she loathed the most was History.

_"Seriously, who cares about the history of Architecture," _she asked once._ "It's here now, isn't it?"_

Nevertheless, Toph endured through the class and passed. Now that she was beginning her second year, the Architecture program had become even more difficult, as expected. Which meant more classes to study for. Toph wasn't very good at studying, no matter how many of those stupid tutors her parents hired for her had trained her. So, Katara always helped her out. In fact, this was why Toph moved in with her when she started college. Other than the money factor, which Toph could obviously take care of, living with Katara would be like living with a nanny, tutor, and friend, but without all of the hassle. Katara was an A-plus student and extremely attentive. Except for whenever Zuko was around.

It was embarrassing how her attention span just dropped when he showed up. Which was why she wasn't able to help Toph study for that test she had last week. It really was all his fault. Katara would throw Zuko under the bus to evade Toph's wrath - straight faced and all. For such a small woman, she was extremely intimidating.

Katara trailed behind Toph as if she was a lost puppy. "Toph, I'm so sorry."

Toph didn't look over her shoulder. She didn't need to. The older woman had been following her around their apartment all morning and through the afternoon attempting to apologize. Thank goodness the apartment was a good size - she was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic. "Shut up, Katara."

Katara shook her head when they entered the kitchen. "I mean it. It'll never happen again."

Katara wasn't a liar, but that was a lie and they both knew it. "You're only saying that because he's not here to cloud your judgement."

The _'he'_ didn't need to be clarified.

Katara felt her face reddening. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but to feel guilty. Toph was like a baby sister to her - an extremely violent, sarcastic, and sharp tongued baby sister. "No, I mean it."

Toph regarded her. Katara did look guilty. She would let her off this time. "Don't worry. I passed without you."

Katara's eyes lit up. "You passed?"

Toph nodded with a grin. She wasn't angry anymore. Now, she wanted to brag. "By definition, to pass is to be successful in an examination, test, or course. So, yes. I passed the test."

The older woman laughed. Hearing Toph quote dictionaries when she couldn't study for tests had always been ironic to her. Then again, this was probably the doing of the tutors her parents hired for her. "See, you can do it all by yourself."

She snorted. As if. "Aang helped me."

Katara raised a brow. Toph's and Aang's relationship had always been a little iffy to her. They were best friends, but their comfort level with each other was so high that they could have ended up as a couple in a split second due to one slip up. "Oh, really?"

Toph nodded. "I don't need you," she said as she grabbed an apple. "Your abandonment showed me the light."

Katara's face grew a bit red again when Toph laughed and walked into the living room. "It won't happen again," she seethed as she followed after Toph. "When's your next test? I'll help you study right now!"

Toph's laughter intensified as she sat on a couch. That wouldn't be happening and she knew it. At least, today it wouldn't be happening because Katara had a date.

_"Tall one to midget," Aang's voice sounded through her phone. "I repeat, tall one to midget."_

_Toph rolled her eyes as she laid in bed. For someone who was trying so hard to resist the idea of this operation, he sure got into it pretty quickly. They weren't even speaking through walkie-talkies. "I'm not a midget. By definition, a midget is-"_

_"An extremely or unusually small person," he completed for her. "Yeah, I know."_

_She grinned to herself. She wasn't surprised that he finished for her. He was always calling her a midget and she was always correcting him. "Bravo."_

_"Whatever," he snorted. "You've got to admit that it's catchy."_

_She thought for a moment. It was pretty catchy. "If I'm 'midget', then you have to be 'baldy'."_

_"T," he whined._

_"You're whining," she whined back._

_There was a pause._

_"Fine." The annoyance was evident in his voice. "But, only because I've got some useful information for you."_

_"Spill."_

_"Zuko asked Katara out. On a date."_

_Toph sat up. "No, he didn't. We didn't even begin our first mission, yet. How did he do it without our help?"_

_"Not sure," he sighed. It sounded like a sigh of relief. "I guess this means that they don't need our help after all-"_

_"When is it?"_

_She could feel him hesitating. "Tomorrow. At five."_

_"We need to be there and monitor this."_

_There was a pause._

_"You need a life."_

_"I'm living, aren't I?"_

_Aang scoffed. "You don't even know where it's going to be!"_

_She smirked and she was sure that he would be able to hear it over the phone. "Don't you worry your shiny, little head about that-"_

_"Hey!"_

_"-I'll get that information from Sugarqueen myself."_

_He sighed. Obviously, there really was no turning back. "Your name isn't Cupid, T."_

_She laughed at this. "You're the one who came up with it, you bald freak."_

_"I didn't think that you would take it seriously, you inattentive midget!"_

_"Ooh, aren't you bold today?"_

_"You're such a nuisance."_

_"Look who's talking."_

_"You love me, though."_

_A pause._

_"Ew."_

_This time, he laughed and she smiled at the sound. No matter how much they insulted each other, they would just end up laughing. "__Baldy, out."_

"My next test is in two weeks," Toph answered.

Katara nodded determinedly. "Alright, go get your books. We'll start now. What did you get on that last test?"

"100 percent."

Huh, Aang did a good job. But, Katara would do better. She began pacing. She was entering study mode. "You're going to get a 115. Go get your books."

Toph checked her phone. As much as she would have loved to study - note the sarcasm - she needed to get Katara on this date. It was 4:30. Apparently, Toph's dilemma had caused her to completely forget about her date. Toph felt a bit proud of herself. This was Zuko she just managed to distract Katara from. "Thanks, but no thanks. It's almost five."

Katara immediately stopped in her pacing. "What did you just say?"

Toph bit back a smirk. She really had forgotten. "I said that it's almost five. 4:30 to be exact. I feel like taking a nap."

Katara shook her head and hid her face in her hands. "I can't help you study. Not today."

"Oh?" Toph raised a brow and bit into her apple. "Why not?"

"I'm going somewhere."

"Where?"

Katara flushed. That was when she began making her escape near the stairs. "Out. With a friend."

Toph followed her. "Is this friend Zuko?" She already knew that it was. Messing with Katara was just entertaining.

There was a pause.

"Toph-"

"The ever elusive Princess Zuko manages to swipe Katara from me once again."

"Don't call him that."

Toph smirked.

Katara rolled her eyes and made it up one stair. "This is the last time. Promise."

"That's what you said, literally, five minutes ago." Katara looked torn and extremely guilty. So, Toph sighed with a smile. "Is this a date?"

"No," Katara said a bit unconvincingly as she made it up another stair. "Just two friends. Going out. Enjoying each other's company."

Toph just remembered that she didn't answer the question as to where they would be. How else was she going to be able to spy- _monitor_ their date if she didn't have this information? "Where's he taking you?"

"The Northern Lights."

Toph's smile grew into a grin. The Northern Lights wasn't just some regular place that Katara was trying to make it out to be. It was a five star, seafood restaurant that opened up two years ago, meaning that it was still fresh. And expensive. This was definitely first date material. Zuko actually did well. After about a year or two, that is. "This _is_ a date. A _hot_ one, isn't it?"

"Oh, look at the time," Katara laughed out as she looked at her wrist. She didn't notice that it was bare. "I'm going to be late!" With that, she made her escape up the stairs and shut a door.

Toph waited a few moments before she heard the sound of a shower running. She threw the apple over her shoulder and it landed with a _thud_ before it rolled off somewhere. Katara would complain about it pretty soon - she was the cleaner of the house - but, she would thank Toph for it. With that, Toph picked her phone up and dialed a number.

_"Midget," _he greeted.

"Baldy, you ready for our first mission?"

A sigh. _"Did you get the place?"_

"Yeah, he's taking her to the Northern Lights."

_"Wow," _Aang sounded impressed._ "I really don't think that they need our help."_

Toph shook her head, even though he couldn't see it. "I'm telling you. They need us." The shower stopped and she checked the time. 4:40. She was being quick. "Meet me there in ten minutes."

_"We're wearing black, right?"_

An eyebrow jumped. She wasn't even thinking of that. "You were born for this. Don't fight the feeling, Aang."

_"Shut up." _The smile could be heard in his voice. _"Baldy, out."_

**_._**

Bring friends with Toph was taxing, both physically and mentally. Not only was she demanding, but she could be extremely manipulative when necessary. Which never really worked in the favor of the other party involved - who was almost always Aang. After all, this was his best friend and he was the only one who knew how to handle her. If he didn't put up with her, he was convinced that things would have been much more dangerous for whoever would have taken his place. The saint in him wouldn't have been able to bear the guilt.

That was still no excuse for him to be sneaking into a five star restaurant in all black to spy - oh, excuse him - "_monitor"_ two of his friends' date. He was even wearing one of those stupid hats with the fake leaves on top of them. When he and Toph settled themselves behind a row of bushes, he took out his binoculars. Thank goodness Zuko and Katara were eating outside; that made it easier to spy on their date. "You'd be lost without me. You know that, right?"

Toph's hand immediately found a place over his mouth, smothering his muffled insults. "Do you want to get caught?"

He bit her palm, prompting her to snatch her hand away with a glare. Served her right. "Yes, I do. Maybe then, you'll learn to stay out of people's private affairs."

"It's not private when it interferes with my grades."

"Oh please, I got you a 100."

"Katara says that she can get me a 115."

"You ungrateful, midget brat."

"That big, bald head of yours is filled with nothing but air, I suppose."

"I'll get you a 130 on the next one."

"Doubt it."

"I swear, I'll step on you-"

She punched him square across the jaw before her other hand swiftly made it's way over his mouth to cover his groans. They really were too immature for their age and their own good. She grinned at his glare and removed her hand before he could bite her again. "You're going to get us caught, Cupid number two."

He was about to ask and argue on why he was number two. Then, he shook his head. She would probably relate it to poop or something. "Why couldn't you just reserve us a spot? You've got money."

"Where's the fun in that?"

He looked at her to find her grinning from ear to ear. She was so much trouble, but she already knew that and there was no point in arguing this fact with her. So, he looked back at the crowd through his binoculars and ignored her sniggers. "I see them."

At his words, Toph took out her own pair of binoculars and spotted Zuko and Katara. Her grin widened. "Katara looks hot. No wonder Zuko can't ever function around her."

Aang smiled with a nod when the couple sat. "They look fine. We should leave."

Toph shook her head as she watched them. Something was wrong. Zuko and Katara were fine, the restaurant was fine, and they had a polite waiter. It might have been her woman's intuition - the little inkling of it that she had - but, she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Or would be wrong. "We're staying. Something's up."

Aang's gaze on the couple narrowed. Everything looked fine to him. "What are you talking about- Wait, who's that guy?"

"What guy?"

"That guy over there."

Toph looked at him, then at the direction he was looking at. She fixed the focus on her binoculars. "He looks familiar."

Aang nodded. "Yeah, he does. He kind of looks like Sokka."

Toph looked at the man a bit more before she nodded. "It is Sokka. He looks different."

Aang grinned. "I think he's been working out. He looks like his dad."

Toph's eyebrow quirked. Sokka and Katara's father was a handsome man. In other words, Sokka was actually hot. "What's he doing here? Isn't he supposed to be studying abroad or something?"

Soon after she said this, a young woman stepped in and sat at Sokka's table. He was on a date.

"Wait, is that Suki," Toph asked.

Aang nodded. "Everyone's on a date except for us."

"Don't tell me you're feeling left out."

"Now that you mention it-"

"Oh, brother."

"-This could be our special date."

"You're so annoying-"

"I mean, we've got candlelight, music, and a beautiful view of the sky."

Toph grinned to herself as she shook her head. It wasn't the first time that they spoke about dating each other. It was always a joke between them that if they both weren't married by a certain age, they would marry each other. "Too bad we had to sneak in, right?"

He shrugged. "The food might be an issue, but we could sneak into the kitchen, as well."

There was a pause.

"That fish does look pretty good."

They both grinned before Aang spoke. "Look," he said as he picked a flower from a bush. "I even got you a rose."

"Don't insult me with that lily."

He chuckled and placed the flower behind her ear. "Don't you look pretty?"

She brushed that off. He always complimented her, which gave their friendship a strange dynamic. It was always a compliment, a whole bunch of insults, then a compliment fused with an insult. They were weird. "As if I need you to tell me how pretty I am."

He snorted. Toph never was the humble type. Even when her parents tried to force the cockiness out with classes on etiquette, their plans backfired and she seemed to get worse. He looked back into his binoculars. "Look, Sokka and Zuko are reuniting."

Toph nodded to herself. Sokka and Zuko always butted heads when they were younger, but the brotherly love was always present. This reunion was heart warming- "Oh my gosh, did Sokka just push him?"

At that moment, Zuko pushed him back and Toph read his lips as saying, _"What's your problem?"_

"I told you that something was up," she murmured to herself when Zuko threw a punch. "Bob and weave, Princess. You're on a hot date!"

"It's about to go down," Aang spoke in a deep, announcer's voice.

"In this corner, we've got Princess Zuko."

"And in the other corner, we've got Captain Beefcake." Aang winced when a waiter got in the way of their fight. "Ouch."

Toph's eyes looked to the food being wasted and thrown around, the flipped table, and the fighting men before they flickered to every person involved. It was funny at first, but now she realized that this was putting her whole operation in jeopardy. No, this was ruining everything. _Sokka_ was ruining everything. She almost stood to break up the fight. It was safe to say that Sokka didn't want to see his baby sister dating Zuko. In turn, Sokka was ruining _Operation: Zutara._ How was Toph supposed to be bringing people together if an overbearing older brother was in the way and destroying opportunities?

When Suki stood to pull Sokka away from Zuko and Katara stood to berate her older brother, Aang spoke the words that would ring true for the remainder of their operation. "Houston, we have a problem."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:**_ I was thinking about the plot of this thing and I realized something: This is going to be a _pretty_ long story. Hopefully that makes up for my late updates. :D Anyway, thanks for the reviews, guys! They all make me smile and giggle. They're all greatly appreciated!

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Operation: Zutara - Chapter Three

.

"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it."

― Mark Twain

.

_Aang had known Toph since he was born. Literally. They shared diapers, cribs, and even took baths together. One would say that he had known her for a long time, but he was only four. Although, he was turning five pretty soon, so that counted for something. Right?_

_"Aang," his mother said as she took his hand into hers. "Let's hurry, huh? We'll be late."_

_With a smile, he let his mother lead him into the Beifong estate. The Beifongs had a huge house - mansion, even. That was really the only reason he liked visiting there. Their daughter, Toph, was... _okay_, but she was weird. For a girl, that is. Not only was she extremely tiny, but she was also loud and obnoxious. Weren't girls supposed to be soft, nice, and giggly? Toph was also tougher than any boy he knew. __Sometimes, Aang thought that she was tougher than his father. She didn't even like pink - she liked _green_. Anytime he told his parents this, they always laughed._

_The large door opened and Aang craned his neck to look up at Toph's father, Mr. Beifong. He was a very serious man. Maybe that was where Toph got her toughness from. Nevertheless, he and his wife were good friends with his parents and he was nice to Aang, so he liked him._

_"Ah, we've been expecting you, Gyatso," Mr. Beifong said with a small smile. With that, he stepped aside to let the small family into the house._

_Aang didn't pay much attention to the small talk that transpired between his parents and Mr. Beifong. He thought that he heard Mr. Beifong mention something about the "the hassles of having to answer doors when the butler is out", but he wasn't sure. He didn't care anyway because he was distracted by the huge house. No matter how many times he visited the house, he never ceased to be amazed. How could one family live in a house like this?_

_"Aang," his father brought him out of his thoughts with a gentle smile. "Why don't you go play with Toph? Your mother and I are going to be busy."_

_Aang made a face. He was never one to shield his emotions, but he consented with a nod and his mother led him to the door of the playroom. "Moooooom," he whined once they arrived._

_His mother looked amused. "Aaaaaang," she echoed as she knelt in front of him to meet his eyes. "What's wrong?"_

_"I want to stay with you," he continued whining._

_The woman giggled a bit as she ruffled her son's bushy, brown hair and Aang swatted her hands away. "You're going to mess my hair up!"_

_A brow quirked. "Oh? Well, in that case, if you don't go into that playroom, I'll mess your hair up even more."_

_Aang crossed his arms as he regarded her. "No, you won't."_

_She raised a hand to his head with a grin and he flinched. "Try me."_

_The woman drove a hard bargain. That meant that it was time to beg. "But, she's weird! She doesn't even like pink! She's not a _real_ girl! What if she's an alien?!"_

_His mother scoffed a bit and ruffled his hair again. "What did I tell you about saying stuff like that?"_

_Aang swatted his mother's hand away frantically. "One color doesn't belong to one gender! Okay! Okay! Just leave my hair alone!"_

_She laughed and he smiled at the sound. His mother loved to tease him, but he would always love his mother. He was a momma's boy and proud of it._

_A sigh escaped her lips as she fixed her son's hair. "Do you know what my favorite color is?"_

_"Gray," he answered automatically._

_She nodded. "Does that mean that I'm not a girl?"_

_Aang shrugged, confused. "You're a mommy. Not a girl."_

_His mother sighed once again, albeit a bit more exasperated. "Toph will be a good lesson for you." She kissed him on the forehead and led him into the playroom._

_Aang looked up at her. "What's that mean?"_

_His mother smiled and tugged at his hair, to which he frantically slapped her hands away. "Hello, Toph," she greeted cheerily._

_Toph, sitting in the middle of the large playroom beside herself, ceased playing with her toys for a moment. Aang would never get over how tiny she was. She was turning four, wasn't she supposed to grow already? To make matters worse, she wasn't even playing with dolls - she was playing with _blocks_. Blocks! _

_Toph smiled and waved. "Hi!"_

_Aang's mother took his hand and tugged him forward. "Say "hello", Aang."_

_"Hi," he grumbled._

_Toph's smile dropped. "Hey."_

_Aang's mother snorted. For two four year olds, they sure had a lot of tension between them. "__Have fun!" With that, she stepped out of the room and shut the door._

_Aang stuck his tongue out at the closed door before he turned around and found Toph playing with her blocks again. Geez, what kind of girl was she?_

_She looked at the blocks in her hands before she threw them aside. "Wanna play something?"_

_Aang felt a grin growing. As weird as Toph was, she knew how to have fun. Plus, she had lots of toys. "Sure!"_

_"How about-"_

_"No. Let's play-"_

_"Nuh-uh! We're going to play-"_

_"No, we're not!"_

_Needless to say, they weren't always on the same page, either. Aang tapped his chin as he thought of a game to play. He was older, so he was supposed to be good with thinking about this stuff. He couldn't let a younger _girl_ tell him what to do. "Let's play house!"_

_Toph made a face and looked a bit taken back. "House? How do you play that?"_

_"We have to be a family. You be the mom, I'll be the dad, and uhm..." He looked around and found a large stuffed bear. He picked the bear up and almost tipped over at the size before he set it down with a triumphant grin and grunt. "This'll be our baby!"_

_Toph didn't look impressed, but she did look bored. So, she shrugged with a nod. "Okay, let's play house."_

_Aang nodded, grin still intact. "Now, we need to build the house."_

_So, they built the house using the cushions, pillows, and blankets around them. It was a bit of a daunting task considering how small Toph was, but she was strong for her size and determined. Soon enough, they finished the house._

_Aang considered the house before he nodded. It was good. Now, they could play. He made his way to the makeshift door and turned to her. "Now, you stay here. I'm going to go to work."_

_Toph stood abruptly. "Why do I have to stay here? I want to go to work, too."_

_Aang almost screamed. She was so weird! "Mommy's aren't supposed to go to work. They stay home and take care of the house and baby."_

_Toph didn't like that idea. That angry look on her face told him so. "Says who?!"_

_"Says me!"_

_"Well, I'm not staying home! I'm going to work, too!"_

_"Then, you're not a real girl!"_

_"My mommy's a real girl! She goes to work!"_

_"Well, my mommy doesn't go to work!"_

_"Your mommy's not a girl! She's a lazy butt!"_

_Aang gasped as Toph grinned. "I knew you were weird!"_

_Toph stomped a foot. "Well, you're stupid!"_

_"You're tiny!"_

_"You have ugly hair!"_

_"You're not a real girl!"_

_"You're a sissy momma's boy!"_

_They glared at each other before charging at the other. Now, Aang had never been one to fight - especially, not with girls. This was just the way that his parents had raised him. But, Toph wasn't really a girl. So, he fought back just as hard. Which was pretty hard because she was a scrapper._

_"Stupid boy," she grunted out as she tugged at his hair. "What kind of girl just sits home all day watching a stinky baby?!"_

_"What kind of girl doesn't," he yelled back as they rolled on the floor._

_"You're so stupid!"_

_"You're stupider!"_

_"Your hair's ugly!"_

_"You're tiny!"_

_Eventually, their small lungs gave out on them and they set the fighting aside to lay on the soft carpet of the playroom. Aang's chest heaved. As if Toph wasn't weird enough, but she fought like a boy, too - even better. For some reason, he grinned at that. Suddenly, he was fine with Toph not wanting to take orders from him. It was also fine that she wasn't like those pink, sparkling, and giggly girls on tv and in magazines. Those girls were kind of scary, anyway._

_He looked at her and his grin grew. She was different. "Wanna play another game?"_

_Toph looked at him with her own grin and a laugh. "Yeah."_

_That day, a four - going on five - year old Aang learned a lesson on women very early on. It wasn't right to categorize all women into one category as none of them were all the same. He also learned that Toph reminded him of his mother a bit - even if she didn't want to stay home and take care of the house and that big bear. He went home with scars that day and strangely enough, eager for his next playdate with Toph. That was the day that she became his best friend._

"Aang? _Aang!"_

Aang snapped out of his reverie, only to find Toph waiting for him with crossed arms. "What?"

"What do you mean "what"," she asked. "We need to discuss our new plan of action since Sokka ruined our first mission, remember?"

Oh, yeah. Now, Aang remembered why he drowned her out. He had just clocked out of work and as soon as he was getting ready to go home, Toph showed up insisting that they needed to finish what Katara and Zuko started. Apparently, Sokka's interference was not something to be taken lightly. At least, not as lightly as he was taking it, but that was just according to Toph. Once again, he couldn't let her do this alone or else things wouldn't end well - for either of them. This was a case of guilt by association meaning that it wouldn't matter if he helped her or not. He would get in trouble merely because she was his best friend. Now, he was stuck at the teashop until they came up with a new plan of action.

He sighed with a shake of his head. "T., this isn't just us and Zutara anymore." He couldn't believe that he just said _that_. He almost gagged, but he endured. "Sokka, AKA, Katara's older brother and soon to be, Zuko's worst enemy, is now involved."

Toph seemed to be thinking over his words. "Then, we need to take care of Sokka."

"Right," he said with a nod before he stopped. "Wait, what?"

"He can't keep interfering with our missions, Aang."

"What are you saying-"

"We need to get rid of him-"

Oh, that was enough of that. "Toph, we can't just kill Sokka off!"

Several people around them gave looks full of suspicion. Toph didn't notice. "I was just going to say that he needs to be distracted by something. Or someone. Namely, Suki if they really were on a date the other night."

Aang sighed in relief. "Okay, good."

"But, your idea sounds better-"

"_Toph_."

She grinned mischievously. "You said it." Then, her smile dropped. "Speak of the devil."

Aang turned to find Sokka stepping into the teashop, only to be followed by a young woman. It was Koko. She was Aang's first and only serious girlfriend back in high school, but they broke up due to irreconcilable differences. In other words, she was crazy.

_"The name suits her well,"_ Toph said once.

Even Aang couldn't deny that. Especially since she refused to accept the fact that they had broken up and had taken to chasing him down whenever she could. She even transferred college campuses to keep tabs on him. He had actually managed to avoid her for a good while. Now, she was following Sokka into the teashop where he worked, undoubtedly, to find him.

Toph's grin returned a bit. "Your girlfriend's here. I missed her!"

It was safe to say that Toph found the whole situation funny. Aang immediately turned around and ducked when Koko began searching through the patrons. He glared at Toph. "Do you think she noticed me?"

She shrugged sympathetically. "Sorry, but that bald head of yours isn't exactly inconspicuous. Especially since Sokka's making his way over here. And she's following him."

Aang hid his face in his hands. Maybe this was like wildlife. Maybe if he stayed still, his predator wouldn't notice him.

"Hi, Aangy," a shrill voice greeted.

Unfortunately, human life was nothing like wildlife. Of course, Aang already knew this after countless times of dodging Koko. But, he liked to keep hope alive. With a sigh, he slid his hands off of his face and regarded Koko. "Hello, Koko."

Koko grinned and her breathing grew a bit heavy.

"Is she okay," Toph asked him.

"Sorry," Sokka apologized sincerely. "I didn't know that she was following me. She's a bit stealthy."

Aang couldn't deny that, either. Koko would be the perfect CIA agent.

"Why are you apologizing," Koko asked dramatically. "You just reunited me with my Aangy! I've lost sight of you for a couple of weeks, but have no fear. Dear Sokka has led me back to you. If I didn't know any better, I would think that you had been avoiding me, but that's silly," she exclaimed with a wave of her hand and a giggle.

Sokka winced. All he wanted was to catch up with his friends after being away for a while. He didn't want this to happen. "I am _so_ sorry."

Needless to say, Toph wasn't the only Sokka hater in the building at the moment.

As funny as Toph found the whole Koko situation, she couldn't just let Aang suffer. He was still her best friend. Plus, she could just tease him about it later on. "Didn't Aang break up with you?"

Sokka coughed. That was Toph - short, sweet, and straight to the point.

Koko looked at her and narrowed her eyes. She had always held a personal vendetta against Toph, even while she was dating Aang. What kind of boyfriend put their best friend over their girlfriend? It wasn't that it was a competition between them, because Toph couldn't care less. Koko just couldn't lose Aang to her - especially if she was supposed to be his best friend.

She painted a smile on. There was no doubt it was for Aang's sake. "Hello, Tophy."

Toph twitched a bit at the nickname. "You didn't answer my question."

Koko hesitated for a bit. "Technically, _we_ didn't break up. _He_ suggested that we take a break. _I_ didn't agree to those terms."

Sokka gave Aang a look of pity. This girl really was crazy. Maybe if he walked back out, she would follow him. But, she finally found her 'Aangy', so that was unlikely.

Toph nodded. "Okay. I'm telling you now that you two are officially broken up."

Now that Toph had taken care of the hard part, Aang could step in. "Sorry, Koko, but-"

Koko slammed a hand onto the table they sat at, startling several customers. "And just who the hell are _you_ to declare something like that?!"

There was a pause.

"His girlfriend."

A record scratch could be heard somewhere in the background. But, it was masked by Aang choking on air.

Koko was infuriated. Like hell she was going to lose Aang to _Toph Beifong._ "Oh, please! As if you actually expect me to believe that!"

Toph quirked a brow. "Why wouldn't you?"

Koko looked her up and down. "Aangy would never go for a girl like _you_."

Toph stood with a gasp. What the hell was that supposed to mean?! Sure, she was lying through her teeth about this whole "relationship," but it was still insulting. "I'm a huge upgrade from you, _sweetheart_!"

Koko let out a gasp of her own. "Are not! Right, Aangy?!"

"Are too," Toph growled as she glared at Aang and he gulped. She didn't notice. "Right, _Aangy_?!"

Aang swallowed. He didn't want to be in the middle of this, but his crazy ex-girlfriend was arguing with his domineering best friend. Unfortunately, he _had_ to be in the middle of this. So, he would handle this as delicately as he could. "Uhm, you see, ladies, you're both beautiful in your own special and unique and individual and different-"

Koko crossed her arms and turned her nose up haughtily. "Ha! You two aren't together. He can't even confirm it."

"_He_ doesn't need to confirm it," Toph retaliated. "If _I'm_ telling you something, you'd better listen. _I'm_ telling you right now that we're together."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Prove it."

Aang looked between both ladies. This looked dangerous. "Now, ladies-"

Toph grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him full on the mouth before throwing him back onto his chair. "That's mine. Stay away."

Aang froze.

Sokka looked at him a bit worriedly. "Aang?"

Aang didn't answer. He was hung up on the fact that Toph - his best friend - had kissed him. It wasn't that she kissed him. It was just that she _kissed_ him. In other words, Toph was an _awesome_ kisser.

He giggled.

Koko gazed sadly at Aang's besmirched and swollen lips. "Oh, Aangy! Say it isn't so!"

Another giggle escaped Aang's lips. "T.," he giggled out. "Where'd you learn to kiss like that?"

Toph resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The things she did to save this guy and he was just ruining everything. "From you, _remember_? We kiss _all_ the time. You're my _boyfriend_."

Aang giggled again. "Whatever you say."

Toph shook her head, but there was a smile on her face. For someone so smart, he sure was an idiot. "You're so stupid. Should I call you "Giggly" from now on?"

"You can call me whatever you want," Aang giggled out.

Toph laughed.

Koko looked between them before she huffed. Something was going on and she would find out. "You two are lying. I just know it. I don't know why you're lying to me-"

"Because you're crazy," Sokka coughed out.

"-But, I'm sure it's because of her influence," Koko continued, undeterred. "I'll save you from her! Don't you worry, Aangy." With that, she made her exit and left the teashop.

Toph sighed as she reclaimed her seat. "Now, back to business-"

Sokka held a hand up. "Wait, wait, wait. You just kissed him."

Aang's giggles intensified. "I know right?"

Sokka gave him a look. He wanted to catch up with them after Koko had left, but he couldn't now. Aang was all _gigglified_. "You can't just go back to being normal."

"Sure we can," Toph stated. "We're best friends."

"Duuuuuh," Aang giggled out.

Sokka studied Aang. Geez. "You can't just kiss like that like it's nothing."

"I already told you that we're best friends," Toph said with a shrug. "That's all it was: a kiss between best friends."

"Yeah," Aang giggled out. "Come on, Sokka. It's just a kiss between best friends."

Apparently, Aang was too giggly to participate in a civil conversation. So, Toph opted for just ignoring him. "Forget about that. I want to know what you were doing at the Northern Lights the other night."

Sokka shook his head. They were weird and he wasn't willing to investigate into that. Then, Toph's words registered. "Wait, how did you know about that?"

"Katara told me."

Which was a lie. As soon as the disaster date ended and both couples were kicked out, Toph and Aang rushed to their respective homes. When Katara walked through the door and Toph asked her about it, she received a cold, "Sokka's an idiot." So, technically no one told Toph. But, it wasn't like anyone else besides Aang knew that.

Sokka shrugged and he pulled up a seat. "What's it to you what I was doing there?"

Aang had finally recovered from his gigglefest. "You're ruining everything," he said with a sigh.

"You okay now, _Giggly_," Sokka asked.

"Ha." He ignored his friend's grins. "Do you know how long Zuko and Katara have been beating around the bush and skirting around their feelings?"

"I didn't think that you cared for such things," Sokka said.

"I don't. But, _Toph_ does." He glared at her and she smiled. "That means that I'm roped into caring until they finally get together."

Sokka snorted. "You're whipped and you're not even really together."

"I know right?"

"No, I'm not!"

Toph ignored that. "Katara wasn't too happy with your performance." Neither was she.

Sokka shrugged. "I'm just protecting my baby sister."

This time, Toph snorted. "From _Princess_?"

Aang laughed. "I think she's safe, Sokka."

Sokka rolled his eyes. He obviously thought differently. "Whatever. Word on the street is that he's taking her out again tomorrow."

Toph couldn't be too reliant on this information. "Who's your source?"

"Suki," he replied. "She and Katara were catching up and I guess, she let it slip."

Toph and Aang looked at each other. She would verify this information once she met up with Katara later on. "Are you going to be there," she asked.

"Of course," Sokka answered. "I need to spy on them."

Toph nodded. "Then, I need to go and make sure you don't mess things up again."

"Oh, really? You need a date to this kind of place, short stuff."

Toph's brow twitched. Did people think that it was okay to give her stupid nicknames at their whim now? "I heard you took Suki out when you showed up at their last date."

He nodded. "I'm taking her out again."

Aang made a face. "I'm not so sure that Suki would take too kindly to being used as a decoy."

Sokka snorted. "She finds it funny and kind of cute."

A light bulb lit above Toph's head. So, Suki and Sokka were an item. Which meant that she would serve as the perfect distraction whenever the occasion arrived.

"So, who's your date," Sokka asked. "You won't be able to find one by tomorrow."

As if that would be a problem. Toph sighed exaggeratedly. "Oh, woe is me," she beckoned. "I'm in dire need of a date for tomorrow-"

Before she could even finish, there were a number of young men, plus one woman, at their table.

Sokka started. "What the-!"

Toph looked at Aang and cleared her throat. "I _said_ that I'm in _dire_ need of a _date_ for tomorrow."

Aang nodded at a couple of the young men and raised a brow at the woman. They looked like good candidates and he was sure that Toph didn't swing that way, but he would have to interview them. Thoroughly, of course.

Toph rolled her eyes. He was so slow. She couldn't go with any of those people because they weren't her partner in crime. Aang was the only one she could really go with to the restaurant for this operation. "For the love of- _Aang_, I'm in need of a date. Do I need to kiss you again?"

He grinned with a slight giggle. "Is that a threat or a promise?" A couple more giggles escaped him.

Toph regarded him with a laugh of her own. She had to admit that it was funny to see Aang all giggly like that. "_Aang_."

"Okay, okay." He sighed, but his grin remained. "T., will you go out with me tomorrow?"

Toph looked to Sokka. "What's the name of the place they're going to?"

What was with them? They were the weirdest pair of best friends that he had ever known. Sokka, who was struck dumb, had no choice but to answer. "The Palace."

Toph looked back to Aang.

"T., will you go out with me to _the Palace_, tomorrow," Aang corrected.

Toph grinned at Sokka. "Why, I would love to go out with you to the Palace, tomorrow, Aang."

At this declaration, the young men and one woman standing by the table all left with a simultaneous groan. Sokka regained use of his brain and he glared at her. "Why do you want to go anyway?"

"To make sure you don't ruin everything," she answered.

Sokka studied her. What did that mean? "You're up to something."

Toph raised a brow. "What ever do you mean, Sokka?"

There was a slight pause before Sokka finally spoke. "You said that I was ruining everything. What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged.

"Toph, stay out of this."

Aang sighed forlornly. "That's what I said and look where I am now."

Sokka looked between them. Were they trying to _match make_ Zuko and his baby sister? "They're not going to be together!"

"That's what you think."

Sokka sputtered a bit before he stood. They _were_ trying to match make Zuko and his baby sister. "Whatever you're doing won't work."

Toph didn't reply to this. Instead, she offered him a sly grin, which only meant one thing: a challenge.

Sokka was never one to back down from a challenge; no one from their group of friends was. "Bring it on."

Toph's grin widened. "No problem."

He shook his head. "You're lucky that I have to be somewhere." With that, he turned to leave.

Aang rolled his eyes. As if the operation wasn't already tasking. Now, they had to counter Sokka's every move. It was a good thing that Toph was good with these kinds of things. "Are we making reservations this time," he asked when Sokka was out of earshot.

"Of course," Toph replied with a grin when Sokka finally left the building. "I'm a Beifong."


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N:_** Life has been pretty eventful, lately. For example, I've watched all six _Fast and the Furious _movies, rediscovered vintage Mariah Carey, and the US government shut down. -_crickets_- How's it going for you? Bahaha!

Anyways, thanks for the reviews, guys! They make me feel special and important. :D

I just realized that I haven't put a disclaimer for this story. But, is it really necessary? I mean, if I owned the ATLA franchise, I wouldn't be on here. This is a _fanfiction_ site, haha! But, I'll put it just in case 'cuz I don't want this taken down for a reason like that.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I own nothing. Not even the _plot_. It's **_Jhelle's_**!

* * *

Operation: Zutara - Chapter Four

**_._**

"A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill."

― Robert A. Heinlein

_**.**_

Older brothers held certain responsibilities when concerning their younger siblings. Specifically, younger sisters. When it came to their younger sisters, older brothers entered a _"protect-from-every-boy-in-the-vicinity"_ mode. One was never sure if this mode was voluntary, or if it was spawned on by instinct like in the animal kingdom since boys already normally acted like animals. Their naturally animalistic nature seemed to grow even worse when it came to this. Especially, if their sister was as attractive as Katara was. Which was probably why Sokka qualified as the perfect older brother, in regards to his younger sister's almost-relationship with Zuko.

The young man's attention span was usually only good for school and work - and even with those subjects, he couldn't focus properly - but, for some reason, he had no problems focusing on this. Sokka was fulfilling his older brother duties with _stunning_ precision. In other words, _Operation: Zutara _was already on the verge of a collapse. Which was baffling to Toph because she and Aang had only completed one mission, for which, they only spied on their victims. They hadn't even gotten seriously involved, yet. And for this reason, they needed to take this operation more serious and keep the enemy, A.K.A: Sokka, at bay.

If you couldn't already guess, all of these deductions were the property of Toph. Aang couldn't care less.

They were at her and Katara's apartment and Toph was holding a meeting regarding the "Sokka issue", as she affectionately named it. (She had a thing for nicknames and it got worse ever since this operation began.) They sat in the small study, each at a side of the table and Aang looked around. Huh, this really was a serious meeting. There were refreshments and snacks sitting on a small table off to the side and against the wall. She even had a clipboard in hand and a small notepad set in front of her on the table. Honestly, if she wasn't his best friend-

She held the clipboard up and regarded it. "Aang?"

"What?"

She didn't answer and kept her eyes on the clipboard.

Maybe, she didn't hear him correctly. "T., what is it," he tried again.

When she didn't answer, he almost grew worried. _Almost_. Then, she tapped the clipbpard twice. "Are you-are you taking _attendance_?"

She nodded and tapped the clipboard, once again. "Yes, now answer to your name properly."

She couldn't be serious. "There's only two of us here!"

"It won't be an official meeting unless I take attendance!"

It seemed that with each passing day, she grew a bit crazier.

They glared at each other before she spoke. "Aang, are you present?"

He felt the urge to insult her or do something stupid and immature, just to spite her. Then, he relented. He was only in this to keep Toph out of trouble. Once that girl set her mind to something - especially, something as hands on as this - she would finish it. Successfully and with no loose ends. From the looks of it, they were _both_ already in trouble.

He sighed. "Present."

Toph showed him the blank clipboard with a grin. "I can't believe you actually did it."

"Are you kidding me?"

"You really are whipped."

"I only did it so that we could start this stupid meeting!"

"We're not even together," she said with a laugh.

He caught the smug tone in her voice. This felt familiar. So what, if he was "whipped"? Which he wasn't. Besides, if he _was_ whipped, it couldn't be considered as a boyfriend-girlfriend type of whipped. It was more of a _best friend _type of whipped. Or something. He pushed that thought aside. "The meeting, T."

With a nod, she set the clipboard down. "Right. We need to do something about Sokka. Quickly."

He shook his head with a sigh and set his chin in his palm. "We just saw him yesterday and that was when he told us about the date. What do you want to do?"

She shrugged with a bit of a frown. "I'm not sure. We need to do _something_ because that date is tonight."

He hated to see her frown. Maybe he could invest into this a little. "We can't use Suki to distract him."

"She'll be with him tonight," Toph finished for him.

"You can't kill him."

"Yeah, I'll go to jail."

"But, you are a Beifong."

"So, I can get bail money."

"It won't be worth it," Aang concluded. "As annoying as Sokka is, that's still Katara's older brother. She'll hate you and be devastated."

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I can deal with her hating me. But, Zuko will be free to comfort her, which will lead to the solidification and admittance of their feelings for each other, meaning that _Operation: Zutara_ would be a success-"

"We're not killing Sokka," Aang said exasperatedly. As unbelievable as it was, this was a normal conversation for them.

There was a smirk on her face before she shrugged. "Whatever. That doesn't change the fact that we need a plan of action for tonight."

His stomach turned at the words "plan of action". That had quickly become a coined phrase of hers. "He'll probably be countering each move full force."

"Especially, since he knows of our operation," she agreed.

"And because you challenged him."

"I couldn't resist."

He gave her a look before his eyes flickered up. "Hey."

Toph furrowed her eyebrows. Was he talking to her? She turned in her seat to find Zuko, himself, leaning on the doorframe. Geez, how long had he been standing there? She turned back to Aang. "How long has Princess been standing there?"

"Don't call me that," Zuko sputtered out.

"How long has _Sparky_ been standing there," she mended.

"Sparky" was a nickname that Zuko had gotten when they were younger due to his short temper. Aang had to admit that the older man had made huge progress and would, most likely, continue to progress, thanks to Katara. "Princess" was just because he was a bit prettier than normal regular boys. Needless to say, Zuko hated both names.

Aang snickered a bit at Zuko's face in his hand and Toph's grin. "He just stepped in."

With a slight nod, she looked back to Zuko. As if this operation wasn't already at enough risk with Sokka. Toph couldn't have one half of Zutara knowing about this. "How much did you hear?"

Zuko lifted his face from his hand and quirked a brow. He looked at Aang, who shrugged, before meeting her eyes. "You spoke about how you couldn't resist something."

That was it? Toph looked at Aang and he nodded. Then, they were safe. With this small victory in mind, she turned back to Zuko with a glare. "Don't you knock?"

Zuko stepped forward and ruffled her hair. "You left the door open a crack, kid. I thought that this room was free game."

She slapped his hand away. "I'm not a kid. I'm nineteen."

"You're still younger than him," Aang offered thoughtfully.

Toph fought the urge to glare at Aang and he knew it. Instead of turning to fulfill the task, like all three of them knew that she itching to do, she kept her eyes on Zuko. It was weird to see him here. Ever since he and Katara had begun expressing their interests in one another, he had made it a point not to come over often. It had something to do with honor, or _whatever_. "What are you doing here?"

He sighed a bit as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Katara and I are going to hang out."

As if they didn't know that. But, they would play stupid for the sake of this operation.

"Is this a date," Aang asked.

Zuko hesitated. "No. We're just going as friends."

"Mh," Toph hummed out, not bothering to mask the fact that she didn't believe that for a second. She and Aang had a lot of work to do. "Where are you two going?"

"The harvest festival in town," Zuko answered.

That wasn't the answer that Aang expected, but he would roll with the punches. "Oh, really?"

Toph, however, wouldn't roll with anything. Don't get her wrong; she definitely _could_ roll with it - her name was Toph Beifong, after all. She could do anything. This just wasn't making any sense. Why were they going to a stupid harvest festival when they were supposed to be going to a stupid, five-star restaurant? Did Sokka lie to her? "I heard from Sokka that you were going to the Palace."

Zuko actually laughed a bit. "He was misinformed. Deliberately."

Aang looked curious. Toph looked confused.

Zuko was amused, so he decided to answer. "After that whole debacle at the Northern Lights, Katara decided that she couldn't have something like that happen again. So, she met up with Suki the other day to catch up and "accidentally" let it slip that we would be going to the Palace. She begged Suki not to tell Sokka..." He trailed off with a mock sigh.

"She knew that Suki would tell him," Aang finished for him.

"She sent him on a goose chase," Toph supported and Zuko nodded.

Aang let the information settle in his brain. Katara deliberately sold herself out to double cross her brother. Toph turned to look at him and he knew that they were thinking the same thing: Katara was playing the game. Toph and Aang should have expected this. Katara wasn't stupid; this wasn't an amateur that they were dealing with. Which set their whole operation on another level.

Toph knew that she couldn't trust that idiot's information. She was so ready to show up at that restaurant and put the operation at risk for him. But, he was safe for now since he was redeemed from his liar role. Now, she just needed to confirm this new information. "I need to speak with Katara." With that, she stood and made her way out of the room.

The room was quiet.

"What were you two doing in here," Zuko asked suspiciously after surveying the room. He set his eyes on the table of drinks and snacks.

"We were having a meeting," Aang answered. Zuko looked unconvinced and Aang had to admit that it was making him a bit uncomfortable. Was he going to ask what the meeting was about? "What?"

"She's not ugly, you know."

Not this. It all began when Toph and Aang were thirteen. Sixteen year old Zuko thought that they would have made the perfect match, but he would never say it in front of her. Thirteen year old Aang thought that he was being stupid. Weren't the older kids supposed to be smart or something? That was his best friend. So now, six years later, while Toph was out petitioning for Zutara, Zuko was also out petitioning for Aang to take his relationship with Toph to the next level. In other words, Taang, as Zuko affectionately called them when she wasn't in the room. It was a bit ironic now that Aang thought about it.

"Zuko," Aang said warningly.

Zuko chuckled with a shrug. "What? She's not. Some people might actually say that she's beautiful."

As if Aang didn't know how beautiful she was. Toph was his best friend, but he appreciated beauty. With a shake of his head, he covered his ears. He really shouldn't have been listening to such things. "I'm not listening."

Zuko shut his mouth and Aang waited a moment before putting his hands down with a sigh. He was safe.

"It's going to happen eventually," Zuko began once Aang's hands touched the table. "You two have known each other for so long. It's only a matter of time."

Aang covered his ears, once more. "Shut up."

"I don't hear you denying anything."

Unfortunately, Aang heard him. So, he dropped his hands from his ears. They weren't doing any good there, anyway. "You've obviously forgotten that Toph is my best friend and that because of this, I can kill you and make it look like an accident, like someone else did it, or a suicide."

Zuko's mouth clamped shut. This time, for good. Aang sighed in relief.

"_Aang_," Toph's voice bellowed out. "_Get your bald self out here!_"

Immediately, Aang stood. Not because he was whipped, but because he needed to get out of that room with Zuko.

Zuko whistled lowly. "Look at you. Just bending over backwards when she calls and beckons for you."

"Toph's my best friend," Aang reminded and warned him, the promise of pain and suffering looming in the air.

Zuko needed to be more careful. Toph's sadistic ways had obviously rubbed off on Aang over the years. That didn't mean that he would actually heed his warning. "You're going to send your woman to do your dirty work?"

_His woman_? Aang gave him a look. What was with him? He was almost as determined to match make as Toph was. "When are you going to let this go?"

"The person that you fall in love with should always be considered your best friend," Zuko answered instead. "You two already have the best friend part solidified. All you've got to do now is kiss or something and you'll be home free."

Toph wasn't kidding when she said that Zuko and Katara were masters of beating around the bush. He didn't even answer his question. "You sound like your uncle," Aang replied pensively.

"Hmm, I think it's the tea," Zuko said with a smile. "Uncle's rooting for you guys, too."

It was a bit disturbing how this didn't bother Aang. In fact, he wasn't even surprised a little. With a bit of a chuckle, he watched Zuko for a few moments. "She kissed me yesterday."

Zuko started. He definitely wasn't expecting that. "Why?"

"Koko."

That was enough of an explanation for the both of them. Zuko guessed that Toph kissed him to ward Koko off, but that didn't explain how they were acting like nothing even happened. "You two kissed?"

"No, _we_ didn't kiss," Aang corrected with a wave of his finger. "_She_ kissed me."

Whatever. It still counted. Yet, it was still strange how there wasn't even a hint of a blush on Aang's face. The boy was known for his red cheeks. "How are you so calm about this?"

Aang stood with a shrug. "It's not like it was the first time. Just the first time in a long time. That's why I got all giggly after it happened."

Correction: Zuko wasn't expecting _that_. He suddenly felt like gossiping, just like those old hags that his uncle hung out with. However, his shock was quelled - just a bit - by the fact that Aang got giggly. That was the Aang that he knew. "Excuse me? When _else_ have you two kissed?"

The corners of Aang's mouth quirked a bit. With that, he stepped out of the room.

It took all of Zuko's willpower not to _run_ after him. How dare he just say that and step out without any further explanation or, at least a _promise_ of some explanation? As calmy as he could, Zuko followed Aang into the living room, only to find Toph and Katara.

Toph looked at Aang. "What took you so long?"

Aang looked at Zuko. "What took me so long, Zuko?"

Honestly, Toph wasn't a good influence on Aang. He couldn't exactly tell Toph that he had delayed Aang by encouraging him to pursue her. Toph may have been small, but she was able. "It was nothing important." When Aang smirked a bit, he rolled his eyes and looked at Katara. She looked a bit...scared? This was to be expected whenever _anyone_ was left alone with Toph for a while. But, this was Katara. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, Katara," Toph said as she looked back to Katara. "What's going on?"

Katara looked between Aang and Zuko. "Help me-"

"I'll tell you what's going on," Toph interrupted with a stomp of her foot. "Katara's a _liar_!"

The older woman gasped, inhaling, swallowing, and almost choking on an ample amount of air. "I am not," she screeched after almost choking.

"She's a dirty liar," Toph continued vehemently. "She's lying about not being a liar!"

This was a rather bold accusation considering the type of woman Katara was. She always strove to be honest in any and every situation that she faced. No one could ever accuse her of lying and Zuko knew this. He held a hand up and approached the two women. "Alright, let's calm down. You're being a bit irrational."

"No, I'm not," Toph retorted. "Katara planted a false seed into Suki's ear, knowing that she would relay the message to her idiot boyfriend."

"Hey," Katara warned lowly. Her brother may have been an idiot, but he was still her brother.

Like Toph cared. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she was going to milk it for all it was worth. Katara constantly mothered and babied Toph and Aang from the day that they met. One thing that Katara drilled into their heads was how important the truth was and how she never, _ever_ lied. "Miss High and Mighty over here, is always telling me how it's bad to lie and how important the truth is. Who's the liar now?"

Zuko started. He hadn't thought of it in that way. "I think you did lie."

This was strange. Katara never lied. Even when she did lie, it couldn't even be counted as a lie because it never strayed far enough from the truth. "Katara," Aang began hesitantly. "Did you _lie_ to your brother?"

Katara prepared to vehemently deny the claim. She didn't want to look like a liar in front of Toph and Aang. She was older and was supposed to be setting an example for them. She met their eyes. Well, as much of an example she could possibly set for _those_ two. "Quick, what's the definition of 'lie'?"

They all looked to Toph. Having a rich friend who got tutors to drill the dictionary into their brain did come in handy at times.

"A lie is an intentionally false statement," she instantly recited.

Katara smiled a bit. Perhaps she could be a bad influence, just this once. She met Zuko's eyes. Besides, it wasn't like they were innocent, little kids. "Yes. I did lie."

Zuko chuckled a bit and Aang grinned. Toph, however, didn't look amused. "You're a liar."

"I'm a liar," Katara conceded with a nod.

Toph watched her. "Does this mean that you'll stop babying me?"

"Nope."

Toph could try to act like she hated Katara's mother complex, but she didn't. It was comforting to have someone care for her and not smother her as her parents did. "I understand. Sokka's a nuisance."

Katara couldn't even argue with that. "It was a last resort tactic. Truce?"

Toph nodded. "Truce. You may now leave to go on your date."

Claims of, "It's not a date!" and "We're just friends!" immediately flew into the air.

Aang laughed and clapped his hands like a toddler. "Wow, they even turned red together!"

Katara shook her head and grabbed for her jacket. "Whatever," she sputtered out as she grabbed Zuko's arm and led him to the door. "Don't set this place on fire." With that, they left the apartment.

As soon as they left, Toph began pacing and Aang plopped himself down onto the couch. He watched her. "What's up?"

"Katara lied," she said with a shake of her head. "To her brother. To keep him away from her and Zuko. Katara never lies."

Aang nodded. He understood. If Katara lied for any reason, then it was serious. In other words, this operation got more serious. Not only did they have to counter Sokka's attacks, but they also needed to watch out for Katara's, and maybe Zuko's, sly moves. "What now?"

She stopped pacing and regarded him. "We're going to that festival."

"Are we going to spy on them?"

"We're going to spy on them hard."

"At least you're not calling it "_monitoring_", this time."

"Very funny."

He smiled at her glare and stretched with a yawn before laying on the couch. They weren't leaving anytime soon since Katara and Zuko just left. It would be suspicious if they met up at the festival at the same time. Aang had enough time ahead of him for a power nap. He would need it. "Wake me up when we're leaving."


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N:_** Hello, people! I'm so glad that you're still sticking around! Once again, I'm not able to answer the reviews as I previously was before, but I'm so grateful for them! Thanks so much for the reviews and telling me what you think. They're a great encourager for me to keep going. :)

* * *

Operation: Zutara - Chapter Five

_**.**_

"Many hands make light work."

― John Heywood

**_._**

_Zuko was ten years old when he, his mother, and little sister left his father. That day really was a blur to little Zuko and he couldn't remember much. Well, he actually did remember quite a bit, but it was difficult for him to put all of the events in chronological order. Probably and most likely because he suppressed the memory._

_There was fighting - that much he did remember. Then again, there was always fighting in his household between his two parents for as long as he could remember. There were always mean and spiteful little jabs thrown at the other, sometimes when they thought that the children weren't listening. Most of the time, right in front of their faces. This was normal and Zuko was used to it - more used to it than a ten year old should have been. However, that day, it was different. The atmosphere and the fighting was different. More hostile. More violent._

_He remembered his father grabbing his mother in the kitchen. He remembered attempting to stop him with as much strength as he could muster up. Then, it got hot. He felt like he was on fire - burning. __His father froze. His mother took the opportunity to gather her two children and flee to his Uncle Iroh's house._

_"Hello, my young prince and princess," Iroh said jovially when he greeted them at his doorstep._

_Zuko never understood how Iroh could be his father's brother. They were so different - Ozai was so mean and rough, while Iroh was kind and warm. His uncle even lived behind the park. Immediately, a smile grew onto Zuko's face. It kind of hurt because of that fresh scar, but he was happy to see his uncle. "Hi, Uncle-"_

_"Oh, Uncle," Azula, his younger sister interrupted frantically with a shake of her head. "It was horrible! Momma and Papa were fighting and Zuzu tried to stop them. Then, Papa burned Zuzu!" She grabbed Zuko's face and pushed it in Iroh's direction. "See! See!"_

_Zuko pushed her small hand away. "Stop that."_

_Azula's eyes widened. "See," she asked in a theatrical whisper. Azula was always the dramatic one._

_Iroh studied Zuko's face before the child looked away. Then, he met Ursa's eyes behind the children. "I see. Why don't you three come in?" He led the small family in and shut the door behind him as he exchanged a few words with Ursa._

_With a short sigh, he painted a smile on and faced the children. Zuko knew that the smile was fake. "You two are in luck today. While I'll be speaking with your mother, you can both go make friends with some of the children outside." He led them out, through the back door, and pointed at a small group of children playing before he shut the door._

_Zuko didn't really want to play with anyone at the moment, but Azula looked intrigued at the thought. They didn't really get the chance to make friends due to moving around so frequently. Plus, he doubted that his uncle would let them back in. He seemed set on speaking with his mother. So, he took Azula's hand and led her to the group of children. "C'mon."_

_When they reached the children, Zuko cleared his throat. "Hey."_

_There was a child with curly, brown hair and a kind smile playing with a huge dog. He looked really happy. "Hi," he began politely as he pet the dog. "I'm Aang-"_

_"Wait, wait, wait," another boy started. He looked around Zuko's age with dark skin and blue eyes. He eyed Zuko suspiciously. "Who are you?"_

_There was scoff. It came from a girl who looked a lot like that boy. She must have been his sister. "Gee, Sokka. I'm pretty sure that he was about to introduce himself." She looked at him. "Right?"_

_Zuko opened his mouth to answer._

_"Of course, he was," another voice sounded and Zuko shut his mouth. This voice was really high. Extremely and strangely high. He didn't even know where it was coming from. "He just doesn't want another big kid to come in. He's jealous."_

_Sokka screeched. His voice was pretty high, too. "No, I'm not!"_

_He looked down and finally found that the first voice came from a small girl. She was so tiny, but he could tell that she wasn't to be messed with. "I'm Zuko and this is my sister, Azula."_

_The small girl nodded. "I'm Toph. Fuzzy head over there is Aang. Blue eyes is Katara. Screechy is Sokka."_

_"I am not screechy," Sokka screeched. He was ignored._

_Aang knelt down beside his dog and pet it. "Don't forget about Appa."_

_Sokka, offended at being ignored, didn't take too well to the new kid and his baby sister being accepted so readily. He crossed his arms. "Well, how do we know if he's not bad?"_

_Katara stomped her foot and glared at her brother. "You idiot! You just met him! You can't just say people are bad before you get to know them!"_

_"But, how do we know," Sokka screeched._

_"Ugh, stop screeching, will you," Toph said with her hands over her ears._

_"I'm not screeching!"_

_Azula giggled beside him and Zuko's hold on her hand grew firm. The group was weird, but Azula seemed to like them. "I'm right here, you know."_

_Sokka rolled his eyes. "Yeah, tell me about it."_

_Zuko was taken aback. What was wrong with him? "What's your problem?"_

_"You!"_

_"We just met!"_

_"So what?!"_

_"Maybe you are jealous!"_

_As the two older boys argued, Azula slipped her hand from her brother's grasp and stepped up to the huge dog to pet it. The others merely watched the argument._

_"Why would I be jealous," Sokka screeched._

_"You tell me! You're the one with the problem, Screechy!"_

_Toph snorted._

_"I'm not screechy, Scar Face!"_

_Azula immediately stood to punch Sokka in the kneecap. "That's not funny." With that, she resumed petting Appa._

_Zuko wasn't offended. "I'd rather have a scar than to have an annoying, screechy, ugly voice!"_

_Everyone gasped._

_Azula giggled as she hugged the dog. Getting her away from that dog would be a problem later on. "Good one, Zuzu."_

_Zuko made a face. Seriously? Was that really worse than him being called a scar face?_

_Toph was the first to recover. "Sparky. This guy is Sparky."_

_Sokka looked at her, bewildered. "How does he get a nickname already?! It took me a whole year to get one!"_

_Wait, what was going on? "What is he talking about," Zuko asked._

_Aang ignored him. "Sparky, like fire."_

_"No," Zuko began. "My name is Zuko."_

_"It's Sparky," Toph said casually. "And you'll like it."_

_"That's not fair," Sokka screeched._

_"Shut up, Screechy."_

_"I'm not screechy!"_

_Katara giggled behind her hand._

_What was going on? Zuko was so confused and no one seemed to be listening to him. "My name is Zuko!"_

_Toph's eyes lit up. "He's kind of pretty, too. Even with that scar."_

_"Pretty?! I'm not pretty," Zuko argued. What was wrong with these people? "Girls are pretty!"_

_Aang studied him and seemed to agree. Not with Zuko, whom he blatantly ignored, but with Toph. "Prince Sparky?"_

_"Princ_ess_ Sparky."_

_Zuko started. "What-"_

_"That's what Uncle calls me," Azula interrupted giddily. "Princess!"_

_Toph and Aang immediately clutched their stomachs as they doubled over with laughter._

_Zuka paled. This couldn't be happening. "That isn't my name!"_

_"Yeah," Sokka screeched. "Call him Zuko!"_

_"What he said!"_

_"Don't agree with me!"_

_Zuko almost pulled his hair out. What was happening?!_

_Toph's laughter intensified. "Princess Sparky!"_

_At her words, Aang's giggles grew. "Like Sparkles!"_

_"Glitter!"_

_"Princess Glitter!"_

_"No, Princess Sparkling Glitter!"_

_Aang fell to the ground in laughter as Toph stomped her foot, emphasizing the point of her amusement. Zuko thought that Sokka was the trouble maker of the group, but he was sorely mistaken. The trouble makers were obviously Toph and Aang. "Repeat after me: Zu. Ko."_

_"Zuko," Sokka said with a nod._

_Zuko wasn't even going to try it with that one anymore._

_Katara, still giggling from behind her hand, seemed to sense his turmoil. "Don't get mad. Toph gives nicknames to people she likes. That means you're in."_

_Sokka shook his head. "No, no, no! Don't say that! He's not in!"_

_Zuko stopped to take Katara's words in. Nicknames meant that he was in? No wonder Sokka was so adamant on them calling him Zuko. "Oh." What a strange concept._

_Sokka stomped his foot. "Not 'oh'. Fight for your name!"_

_"Shut up, Screechy," Toph sighed out with a grin._

_"My voice isn't screechy!"_

_"Yeah, don't be jealous, Screechy," Aang said from his seat on the ground._

_"I'm not screechy-"_

_"Zuko's cool." Aang finished with a smile._

_Toph crossed her arms with a shake of her head and a mischievous grin. "No, Zuko isn't cool. Princess Sparkling Glitter is."_

_That sent Aang into another bout of laughter and Sokka into a ranting rave._

_As happy as Zuko was to have been accepted, that nickname just wouldn't do. "But, I don't like that nickname."_

_"Ah," Aang said with a shrug and a sigh. "Sorry. You don't get to make that choice."_

_Zuko made a face. "That's not fair."_

_Toph shrugged. "Life isn't fair."_

_Zuko seriously couldn't have been getting bossed around by a little girl who was literally half the size of his eight year old baby sister. He was ready to argue against this. Then, Appa leaped, pushed him to the ground, and began lapping at his face._

_"Appa likes you, Zuzu," Azula exclaimed happily._

_"Appa's a good judge of character," he heard Katara say. "Right, Aang?"_

_"Yup," he answered. "If Appa likes him, then he's definitely cool."_

_"Oh!" Azula's clapping could be heard. "Good job, Zuzu!"_

_"Princess Sparkling Glitter Zuzu-"_

_"Mmh!" Zuko's assertions were muffled by Appa's weight and slobbering tongue all over his face._

_"-And Goldy Eyes," Toph finished, as if testing the sound of it. She really wasn't good with nicknames, but she was only six. "You guys are cool."_

Zuko's memory was never very good and he was big enough to admit this to himself, especially since he had been suppressing memories since he was six. But, this didn't bother him. If he wanted to remember something, he would. The one memory that he would never forget was the day that he met the strange hodgepodge of friends. _This_ - he would never admit aloud. Despite the stupid nicknames from Toph, debates with Sokka, and random attacks from Appa over the years, they had become his best friends and he was glad. Luckily for Zuko, Toph eventually grew too lazy to actually call him "Princess Sparkling Glitter Zuzu" every time she saw him and he got promoted to "Sparky" instead. However, he hadn't expected to fall for Katara.

Growing up, everyone thought that she was perfect. And she was. She was pretty, got good grades, and excelled in almost every sport. It was almost as if she was _too_ perfect. Especially when she would mother everyone, correct their grammar and poor posture, and badger them about their grades. She was a know-it-all who _knew_ that she knew it all. She knew how brilliant she was and didn't need anyone to tell her. Instead, _she_ would tell _you_. It was almost as if she was attempting to extract all of her perfection from within herself and shower it all onto them. It was irritating to no end and would always cause them to get into arguments. Stupid arguments.

It was a bit exhilarating to argue with her because the only people who would ever challenge him were Azula and his mother. Everyone else let him have his way. Girls, especially. They thought he was good looking, so they automatically agreed to everything he said. Guys were intimidated by him, so they didn't challenge him. (Well, Sokka did, but he didn't really count.) Katara was different. He liked getting her all riled up. He liked seeing her slip from that little pedestal of perfection that people built for her and she reveled in. So, he would nitpick and get her all flustered over any little thing that he could think of. She didn't like that one bit.

_"I don't care how pretty you are,"_ she sneered at him one day during his second year of college and her senior year of high school. _"Those ditzy little Barbie girls might let you get over on them, but you better not expect that from me. I will call you out on everything that I need to and chew you out whenever I've got the chance. Got it, Scar Face?"_

That was when he knew that she was_ "The One"_. It was a bit masochistic on his part and really cheesy, but it didn't matter because she felt the same way about him as he did about her. Which was why, after two years of tiptoeing around their feelings for each other, Zuko decided to take the intiative and help out with _Operation: Zutara_.

Yup. He knew.

It was when he came to the girls' apartment to pick Katara up that he found out. She told him to wait for her in the living room while she finished something up and he was never really one to actually listen when he was told to do anything, so he wandered off in search of Toph. She was an entertaining little one. When he found her and her cohort, they were speaking of their little operation. So, when he had heard enough, he stepped in and let his presence be known. He was actually a bit surprised that Toph hadn't notice him before - sometimes, it was as if she had a sixth sense. But, she was engrossed in the conversation, so he understood. When they asked if he had heard anything, he lied right through his teeth. Zuko was a dirty liar and proud of it. He knew all about _Operation: Zutara,_ their enemy Sokka, and he was expecting to see them tonight at the harvest fest, spying on him and Katara.

Beside him, Katara grabbed his sleeve and led him to a booth. "I'll win you that bear."

He made a face. "Why? Because I'm a princess?"

Her brow quirked. "You said it. Not me."

"Ha." But, he wasn't mad and she knew it. A bit of a smile crawled it's way onto his mouth when she paid the booth man a dollar for the game. She would win the biggest bear for him, simply because she excelled at just about anything she set her mind to, and he would just end up giving it to her at the end of the night. They both knew it.

That was just their relationship, if anyone could even call _whatever_ it was that was between them _that_. Which was why this _Operation: Zutara_ came at the most opportune time. Zuko was ready to take this to the next level. He knew that Katara was, but she was still too proud to admit it and he didn't want to scare her off. Two nosy, trouble makers plotting to get them together were the perfect gateway for his plans. Plans, as in, more than one plan. The primary plan being to help Toph and Aang complete _Operation: Zutara._ The secondary plan being to help Toph and Aang get together.

It was always a joke between him and Aang - mostly Zuko - that those two would eventually get together. He had even had conversations with the two of them speaking about marrying each other if they both weren't married by a certain age. (Once again, this was a joke, but still.) This was the least that Zuko could do with them trying to get him and Katara together. What else were friends for?

A party whistle sounded and Katara laughed as she was handed the large, fluffy bear. "I told you that I'd win it for you!"

Zuko shrugged as they walked from the booth. "I didn't say that I didn't believe you."

She rolled her eyes and handed him the bear. "You're welcome."

He laughed at her pout and took the bear from her. It really was huge. Luckily, he wasn't going to have to keep it at his house. "Thank you, Katara. You're the best."

She shrugged, but there was a smile fighting to come out. "Tell me something I don't know." Before he could answer, she spotted another booth and her eyes lit up. "I'll win you that penguin!" With that, she sprinted off.

Zuko sighed. She would have trouble carrying all of those prizes home tonight. Nevertheless, he followed after her with a bit of a smirk. After tonight, _Operation: Taang_ will be set in motion and put into effect. Where were those two, anyway? He checked the time. It was already two hours into the harvest fest. He had been expecting them to be spying by now.

_**.**_

Mission One - Harvest Fest

_**.**_

True to Zuko's suspicions, Toph and Aang were spying. Although, they weren't spying as closely as they - _Toph_ - would have liked to. Since they didn't want to go searching through every section of the large and bustling harvest fest, they were on the Ferris wheel, looking around whenever they circled to the top.

Toph quietly huffed to herself. As of that afternoon, _Operation: Zutara _had died and been restored to life. In other words, the operation was to begin anew with this mission. That debacle and mockery of a mission that they had completed at the restaurant was no longer considered as their first mission. Now, they knew who they were dealing with. They already knew how smart Katara was, but it took her lying for them to realize what a danger her intelligence would really impart on their operation. And so, _this_ was their first mission: Mission One - Harvest Fest. It wasn't very creative, but this whole thing was such short notice.

Toph took her binoculars out when their booth reached the top of the Ferris wheel. "Where are those two-" She whipped her head to glare at Aang when he snatched the binoculars away. "What?"

He didn't seem to be affected by her little tantrum. He was used to them. Instead, he studied the binoculars. "You can't keep looking over with these things. This looks suspicious, T."

"That wasn't a problem before."

"People can actually see us this time."

"So?"

"They'll call the _cops_ on us."

She shrugged. "I thought we talked about this. I'm a Beifong. I've got money."

Honestly, attempting to get through to this girl was pointless. Her stubbornness was a force to be reckoned with. Still, he held on to the binoculars and stuffed them into the pocket inside of his jacket. "You've got eyes for a reason."

She huffed again. What a party pooper. With a roll of her eyes, she waited for their booth to circle to the top. The thing went so slow. Finally, after about a full two minutes of waiting, their booth reached the top and she began looking around. "Do you think Zuko was telling the truth when he said that he didn't hear anything that we were talking about?"

Beside her, Aang shrugged as he searched as well. "I'm pretty sure he was telling the truth. Zuko doesn't really lie. He's always talking about his honor." The booth slowly left the top and he looked at her. "You're the lie detector, remember?"

Toph turned to look at him. "I feel like you guys have gotten better at hiding the truth from me after so many years of friendship."

He laughed at this. Obviously, she was still shaken up about Katara's lying. "Even me?"

There was a bit of mischief in her grin. "Of course not. You were always a bad liar. You're still a bad liar."

Aang honestly wasn't sure if he should have been happy about that or not. But, he was pretty sure that she meant it as an insult. "You're ugly."

She snorted. "One of the worst lies you've ever told me."

"How could you tell?"

"We both know how good looking I am."

He rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh. Honestly, her pride was a problem. He wasn't going to argue with her on this. "You're right."

"Of course, I'm right."

"You're beautiful, T."

"I don't need you to tell me how beautiful I am," she said with a shrug and a bit of a grin. "I already know." He always said that and she already did know, but it was nice to hear him say it.

The booth made it's way to the top and they both looked over their respective walls. "I think I see them," Aang said beside her.

Immediately, she made her way over to his side and followed his eyes. "It is them," she confirmed.

"Too bad this thing goes so slow," he said. "They're all the way on the other side. By the time we reach the bottom, they'll be gone."

Like hell, Toph was going to wait for this slow piece of metal garbage to reach the bottom. This thing could go faster. She knew it and she would make it happen. She shuffled over back to her seat and waved at the worker. "You need to stop this thing now!"

Aang started. "T., what are you doing?"

She looked at him. "I'm getting us off of this thing." She leaned over her side and painted on a look of grief. "I need to get off of this thing! Please!"

The worker looked up at her. "Why?"

Aang shook his head and looked up to the heavens. Of course, this was _his_ best friend. But, he was stuck with her, so he might as well help her out. He made his way over to her side. "My girlfriend's pregnant and she's got a strange case of morning sickness!"

The worker gave them a look. "It's six o'clock! How can she be having morning sickness?"

"I said that it was strange, didn't I?" Aang shrugged. "I'm used to it! But, if _you_ want to argue with a pregnant woman's stomach, be my guest! _I'm_ not the one who'll have to shut this ride down to clean the mess up and in turn, lose some profit!"

For emphasis, Toph covered her mouth and made an unpleasant retching sound. She seriously should have majored in Theatre instead of Architecture.

The worker didn't argue with that. It turned out that Toph was right; that Ferris wheel really could go faster. Soon enough, they found themselves on sweet ground.

"Thanks," Toph threw over her shoulder as she and Aang sprinted off to their destination.

"Should you really be running," the worker called out as he set the machine back into motion, but it went unheard.

The two finally reached their destination and looked around for the couple. The two would probably scream at them for using that word to describe them, but it was useless at this point. Toph's brows furrowed. Where were those two? They couldn't have gotten away that quickly.

In fact, they didn't. Zuko and Katara were two booths down from them, but they didn't know it. However, Zuko did and was doing his best not to be seen by the two. He felt a surge of pride run through him at the sight of them. So, they did follow them to the festival. Although, he did wonder what had taken them so long to find him and Katara.

When Toph turned to his direction, he ducked behind one of the many stuffed animals in his hand. He couldn't let them know that he knew that they were there. But, he needed a plan of his own. He cleared his throat and pointed to food vending booth. "Are you hungry?"

Katara nodded. "Ravenous."

Perfect. They began to make their way to the food vending booth before Zuko realized that Toph and Aang still had no clue that they were there. He needed them to notice him so that he could do some spying of his own. So, he dropped a stuffed animal on the ground. He turned to pick it up, making sure that Toph and Aang saw his face. "Oops," he said sheepishly. He didn't miss those jade eyes and that bald head before they ducked.

Katara shrugged with a laugh. "It's no problem." She picked the stuffed pig up and dusted it off. "Let's go."

"Yeah, let's." Zuko followed her lead. _Operation: Taang_ was now in full effect.

* * *

**_A/_****_N__:_** PLOOOOOOOOOOOT TWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIST.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: **_Heeeeeeeeey, people! Aaaah, I'm so glad that you guys like the story so far! Thanks for all of the adds and reviews, they are all greatly appreciated!

* * *

Operation: Zutara - Chapter Six

_**.**_

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

― Fred and George Weasley

_**.**_

Mission One - Harvest Fest of _Operation: Zutara _was a success. At least, by Toph's standards it was a success, and this was only because everything went exactly as planned. It was mainly for observational purposes, but all of her observations proved her hypotheses correct. Honestly, for two people who constantly attempted to deny the verity of their relationship, Zuko and Katara were pretty predictable. At the harvest festival, they both looked like they were in high school again, laughing, playing games, and stuffing their mouths with junk food. Katara had a seemingly permanent smile on her face. Even the normally solemn and serious Zuko had a hint of a smile on his face all night. Anyone who saw them together that night probably guessed that they were a couple. If said couple was approached about this, they both would have denied the accusation vehemently. Katara had even come home with an obscene amount of stuffed animals. Which meant that Toph's work was nowhere near done. She had no problem with this, especially since it helped to distract her from studying from that upcoming test.

"T.," Aang's voice broke her train of thought. They were at her apartment, sitting in the kitchen, because she deemed it of the highest importance for him to come over. "Don't you have that test in, like, two days?"

Toph attributed him bringing the test up to their best friend telepathy. "Tomorrow," she corrected.

He shook his head with a sigh. This was probably why she called him over - to help her study. "Are we pulling an all nighter?"

"No," she said with a tone of disgust. She hated all nighters, but she loved _sleep_. There was no in between or compromise with those two. So, to effectively deal with this conundrum, she always chose the one that she loved more. Needless to say, sleep won over her grades any day. "Besides, we have another mission."

Aang almost got up and left. He really just came over to talk about the stupid operation. That girl really was putting everything into it. "Did it ever occur to you that I do have a life of my own?"

A brow quirked. "Outside of work, school, and sports?"

"Yes."

"No."

"_Toph_."

She grinned. It was pretty funny to see him frustrated. The tips of his ears grew all red. "We need to complete another mission."

"We _need_ to?"

"We need to."

They looked at each other for a moment, one challenging the other before he sighed. Either way, he would be wrapped up into whatever she had planned. He might as well make it easier on himself - since he would be the _only_ one to suffer - and surrender. "Fine. What's today's mission?"

There was a pause.

"I heard that if you lock two people with romantic or sexual tension in a room for an _x_ amount of time, _things happen_."

"You have _got_ to be kidding me."

She laughed.

_**.**_

Mission Two - Locked Up

**_._**

According to Toph, the first step to completing any task is to make sure that everything necessary for said completion was at hand. (She read this in a book.) In this case, the task that needed to be completed was the mission. A.K.A., Mission Two - Locked Up. The materials in this situation were two people: Zuko and Katara.

"Victims," Aang corrected when he heard the plan. Right before he received a punch in the gut.

The plan was exactly what the mission name and her comment insinuated. Toph and Aang were going to lock Zuko and Katara in a room until they officially became a couple. Crazy? Absolutely. Possible? Well, Toph thought so. Aang was pretty sure that Zuko would call the police on them and that Katara would visit them at the jail and give them heartfelt speeches that Toph would blatantly ignore and he would grow guilty over. But, Aang didn't need to worry because Toph had a plan for the plan.

Besides, if it didn't work, she could always get them both bailed out and they could try again.

He shuddered at the thought.

_**...**_

Step one: Create a problem.

"Sparky," Toph spoke into the phone before pausing.

Aang guessed that Zuko was complaining about the nickname at that point, which was pretty useless. He had been complaining about that nickname since he was ten and she still wasn't showing any signs of budging.

"Yeah, yeah," she continued with a wave of her hand. "I need a favor, Glitter." She immediately held the phone away from her ear and place her hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh, prompting Aang to chuckle a bit. She took a breath and brought the phone back to her ear. "I'm serious. The bathroom door of our apartment is messed up and I'm not trying to waste money on a handyman when I've got you here. Princess Hot Man to the rescue, right?"

Aang could hear the shouts from over the phone. "Sparky" was the perfect nickname for him. Especially when Toph knew all the right buttons to push.

"Okay, okay," Toph said. "If I say that I'm sorry, will you come fix the door? Alright, see you in a few. Hurry, though. I want it fixed before Katara gets home so that I can show her how responsible I am." She scoffed. "Shut up. That's why you're Princess Hot Sparkling Glitter Zuzu Man." With that, she shut the phone and looked at Aang. "Twinkles?"

"Yeah?"

"We need to rig that door."

Aang wasn't surprised. So, he stood from his seat. "Where's the toolbox?"

_**.**_

Honestly, for someone who refused to use their smarts for studying and schoolwork, Toph's intelligence was quite impressive. Especially her intelligence regarding all things architectural, which really wasn't that surprising. It was what she majored in, after all, but it always caught Aang off guard. When they had finally managed to find the toolbox, they worked on bathroom door's screws for a short moment before she eventually took over. As he sat on the floor and against a wall, he couldn't help but to watch his best friend work in admiration. She really was skillful in the craft.

Fortunately, she brought him out of his thoughts. "Enjoying the show," she asked as she screwed a bolt in place.

"Yes." It wasn't like he could lie to her. She could always tell.

She snorted with a grunt. "You could, at least, offer to help instead of just sitting there and looking pretty."

"Would you let me help?"

A grunt. "Good point."

Thoughtfully, he watched a small hand raise to tuck a stray lock of hair into her big, messy bun. "You know, this is very damaging to my male ego."

"Good," she said as placed the screwdriver down and picked a wrench up. "Male egos are far too big nowadays. One less ego won't hurt this male dominated society."

"Down, T."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Apparently, I have to since you can't control yourself."

"Just sit there, like a proper lady, and keep your mouth shut."

He raised a brow. "Role reversal?"

She laughed a bit. "Yeah, I'm daddy."

There was a pause.

"_Daddy?_"

Her laughs grew with a slight grunt as she kicked a rod in. "It got you to shut up, didn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said with a wave of his hand. "I'll remember how pretty I have to be when you need a ride to school."

She glanced at him with a roll of her eyes before she went back to working on the door. "How long do you think we'll have until Zuko realizes that I could fix this door on any day, blind folded, with one arm behind my back, and without any help?"

He shrugged. It was a bit strange how Zuko hadn't mentioned that. "I'm not sure. Maybe he's still hungover from his date with Katara last night. Oh, excuse me."

"It wasn't a date," they mocked in unison before Aang continued. "Or maybe it was all those nicknames that threw him off. You better stop with that. I have a feeling that he'll step on you one day."

Toph whirled her head to look at him. "Excuse me?"

The doorbell rang.

Aang grinned. She raised a brow and his grin immediately fell. She may have been small, but she was able, if not anything else.

She immediately stood, gathering up the supplies and placing them into the toolbox as she did so. "This door is rigged to stay shut until it gets fixed. Or unless the key is used from the outside."

He watched her from his seat on the ground, grateful for the distraction. "Where's the key?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

He debated on arguing that answer for a bit. Then, he decided that it wasn't worth it. "What's the plan for him?"

"We push him inside and shut the door before he can say or do anything." With that, she made her way to the front door.

Aang shook his head as he stood and sprinted after her before she could open the door. He took the toolbox from her. "'T' doesn't stand for 'Toph' anymore."

Toph looked intrigued. "What else does it stand for?"

"Trouble."

A grin immediately found it's way onto her face. "Thanks!"

He shook his head again. He was fully convinced that he would have a permanent sprain in his neck by the time this operation ended. If it ever did end. "Not a compliment." Before she could reply, he stepped away with the toolbox in tow.

Toph raised a brow. Not a compliment? Says him. She pushed the thought away and opened the door to come face to face with Zuko. "What took you so long, Sparky?"

He looked unimpressed. "I could leave right now, kid."

"I'm 19."

"Act like it."

"Are you talking about society's standards for a 19 year old to act?"

"Now, you're just making excuses for your behavior," he loudly retorted with a shake of his head. He made it a point to ignore the grin on her face as he shut the door behind him. "Just show me the bathroom."

Toph smiled a smile that was way too innocent for her face. "Gladly."

**_._**

Zuko was locked in Toph's and Katara's bathroom. From the words coming out of his mouth, he was _pretty_ angry. But, it wasn't Toph's and Aang's faults, honest. It wasn't their fault that this bathroom door locked from the outside, that Toph "lost" the key, that he had forgotten to bring his own toolbox, and that she forgot to inform him of these important details beforehand. At least, this was what they told him.

"Don't worry, Sparky-"

_"Stop calling me that!"_

Immediately, a hand flew to cover Toph's mouth and stop the snickers from coming out. Aang held his stomach as he wheezed and stomped his foot. In reality, it was surprising how fluidly and accordingly the plan worked. Aang didn't think that it would work, but it did and now, Zuko was stuck in a bathroom for, what looked like, the rest of the day. He had to give her credit for that.

_"I can hear you two laughing!"_

That only served to feed into their laughing frenzy. Aang, who was in much better shape than Toph at the moment, took it upon himself to answer. As much as he disagreed with this plan, he had to admit that it was funny. He took a few calming breaths. "I'll call Katara and ask her where she left the spare key and the toolbox."

There was grumbling before they heard a disgruntled, _"Hurry up!"_

Step one of Mission Two - Locked Up was complete. Which meant that it was time to commence step two.

_**...**_

Step Two: Support the problem.

Aang was a sissy boy. He was more in touch with his emotions than any other man she had ever known and even more than her, which she couldn't even blame him for. Toph was never good with handling overwhelming emotions in the first place, but that was beside the point. He always tried denying his sissiness by claiming that he was "just comfortable with his emotions" and that there was "nothing wrong with a man being in touch with his soft side". It didn't matter because Toph would stand by her claims of him being a sissy boy until the day that she died. She knew it and she made sure that he knew it as well.

"Katara," Aang spoke shakily and frantically into the phone. "Katara, I need your help."

However, as sissy as Aang might have been, it didn't hurt that he could just bring on the waterworks whenever it was necessary.

"No, I'm fine," Aang continued heavily. "I'm fine. But, Zuko... Zuko, he-" He cut himself off with a sigh and a choked sob. "Toph and I, we tried to stop him! Honest, we did-! But, Zuko, he-! He just wanted to help, Katara!"

Toph watched, impressed. Honestly, if she wasn't in on this plan and with Katara instead, she would have been teetering on the edge of her seat.

"Okay, okay." Aang sighed. "I'm calm, I'm calm. I just-just." Another heavy sigh. "_Please_ hurry." He waited a few moments before he shut the phone and looked to Toph. "How was that?"

"And the Oscar goes to," she finished the statement with a flourish of her hands. "Forget studying Aviation, Hollywood's where the money's at."

He grinned with a bow, obviously satisfied with his performance. "Are we doing the same thing with Katara?"

She nodded. "Yup. She should be here pretty soon, too. You went _'Titanic' _on her."

Suddenly, the jingle of keys fumbling at the front door could be heard. Toph and Aang looked at each other. Was she here already? Katara was the self proclaimed mother and caretaker of the group, and she was hopelessly in love with Zuko, but how did she get there so quickly?

Frantic footsteps were heard before Katara stepped into the room, her hair a mess and her clothes disheveled. "I got on the highway as soon as I heard your voice."

The younger pair blinked. Well, that answered their questions.

Katara set her bag and keys down before she went searching through drawers and cupboards. "I was able to get off early since the boss likes me, you know. It pays to be nice and kiss up to your superiors."

Aang smiled a bit. There was no doubt that this was directed to Toph.

Katara spun around, a first aid kit in hand. "Where is he?"

_**.**_

Zuko was pretty sure that this whole incident was a part of Toph's and Aang's little _Operation: Zutara_. Which was why he didn't argue with Toph over the phone when she asked him to come over to fix the door. The girl was majoring in Architecture and was a genius with tools, for goodness' sake. She was fully capable of fixing all types of doors by herself with no difficulty, he knew this. There was no doubt that this was a part of their plan. He was only there because he was curious to see what their next plan of action would be. If he was called over and locked in this room, he was confident in the fact that, sooner or later, Katara would be shoved in and locked up as well.

He hadn't told anyone about his own little operation and he wanted to keep it that way. For now, at least, or until he was really sure of what he was up against. All he knew was that he needed to form allies, with which he was already outnumbered by Toph and Aang. But, that wouldn't last too long.

The door opened and Katara stumbled in. She blinked. "Zuko?"

He waved a hand. "Hey, roomie."

"You're not dying." She looked disappointed. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Not physically." He sat on the ground with a shake of his head.

She offered him a smile and he instantly felt lighter. Being locked in a room wasn't so bad. Especially since he had her in there with him now. "How long have you been in here?"

He shrugged. "Not sure. Somehow, they slipped my phone off of me without me noticing. Do you have any idea why they just would lock us in a room?"

She tapped her chin as she thought. "Nope, I'm pretty sure that I was told that you were dying."

He let a smile slip onto his face. So, she had no clue of their plans. He was tempted to tell her, but he declined the thought. Not yet. However, he could use the time to plant a seed and create a potential ally for _Operation: Taang_. "Those two are something else, aren't they?"

She scoffed and she sat across from him. "Those two trouble makers? They're always up to something. I'm surprised that they haven't gotten arrested, yet."

Zuko scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know. It's kind of... cute, don't you think?"

Katara looked at him. "Since when have you thought that anything was cute?"

Since she was making that face. But, telling her that wasn't really part of Zuko's plan. "Come on, they do everything together. They even get into trouble and cause problems together. They're like a modern day Bonnie and Clyde - minus the murders. Tell me that they're not a future couple in the makings."

"I don't know." Katara looked unconvinced. Which meant that Zuko would have to bring out the big guns.

_**.**_

In the kitchen, Aang and Toph sat across from each other at a table, a bundle of nail polishes sitting in between them. She still refused to study, so she suggested painting her nails to waste the time away as they waited. He didn't mind her procrastination. After all, it wasn't like he was taking the class. Plus, the smell wasn't as bad as people made it out to be once he got used to it. "You know," he began. "I heard somewhere that nail polish kills brain cells."

She picked a bottle up. "I'm still a genius."

"Who refuses to study."

"That's beside the point," she said with a wave of her hand. "I think I'll do green today."

He looked at the bundle of nail polishes. "You always do green."

She shrugged. "I don't always mean to. I think it's because it's my favorite color. It might be a subconscious choice."

A bright orange color caught his eye. He picked the bottle up and held it out. "Do orange."

Her upper lip curled in disgust. "That's _your_ favorite color."

He raised a brow at her look. What was wrong with orange? "You should be proud to wear your best friend's favorite color on your fingers. I'd wear green nails for you."

"Your whole 'not a sissy boy' campaign just got shot in the sky."

He laughed. "I'm serious, I would! Besides, it would probably work to my advantage. I'll have the ball and make it a point to show the other team my nails as I dribble. They'll stay away and we'll win the game."

Along with studying Aviation, Aang was a star player on their school's basketball team, playing as the point guard. Toph had to admit that the plan was a bit diabolical. She obviously wasn't a good influence. "When does the season officially start?"

"Next week," he answered. "Are you coming to the first game?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?"

He smiled.

"Of course not."

His smile fell when she began to laugh. "_Toph_. I need my good luck charm there or else we'll lose the _first_ game of the season! If we lose the _first_ game of the season, then-"

"You'll have a horrible season because it sets a bad standard from the beginning," she finished. "Blah, blah, blah. I was just kidding. I'll be there, jeez."

He watched her warily. He knew that she wasn't lying, but it still wasn't right for her to joke like that. He was fiercely adamant in the fact that she was his good luck charm. One time, he had a game when she wasn't there and the other team beat them down embarrassingly bad. When she finally arrived by the last quarter, their team miraculously rose up. He wasn't superstitious, but that was enough of a sign for him. "Don't play like that."

"You're only saying that because you don't want your precious team to lose." She took the bottle of polish from his hand and inspected it. "How long has it been?"

Aang checked the clock. "An hour and a half. What do you think they're doing in there?"

"Probably sitting at two different corners of the room."

"Probably blushing and avoiding each other's eyes."

"Probably stuttering."

He chuckled. "I'm surprised that we haven't had any interference from Sokka, yet." He paused to inspect his hand. "I'm serious. Paint my right hand green. Maybe it'll double my luck or something."

_**.**_

"Zuko, I don't know," Katara began hesitantly as she paced in front of him. She had to pace. Pacing cleared her brain and at the moment, she didn't know what to think. "Toph and Aang, they're best friends. They've _been_ best friends since they were _three_."

"So," Zuko asked from his spot on the floor. "Uncle always says that your potential partner should always be considered your best friend. Those two are already halfway there. I mean, I consider you to be my best friend." His mouth immediately clamped shut. He did _not_ mean for that to come out.

"Yeah, yeah," she said with a wave of her hand. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts. "Same here."

Zuko smiled.

"But, this is Toph and Aang we're talking about," she continued obliviously. "Those two put their friendship over everything. No matter how much they fight, argue, or insult each other."

"Tara, they already act like a married couple," he rationalized. "All that's left to push them over the edge is a kiss. Which they've already done."

Suddenly, Katara tripped over her foot in an effort to stop pacing. "_What?_"

Zuko had her. But, he couldn't let her know that. So, he blinked. "Oops?"

She shook her head and approached him with a waggling finger. "No, no, no. Don't you _dare_ 'oops' me. You explain yourself now."

He took in a breath. "All right, you've got me." It wasn't like he wasn't going to tell her, anyway. "Last week, Toph kissed Aang at the teashop."

Katara gasped. "At the teashop?"

Zuko nodded. "At the teashop."

"On the _lips_," she whispered conspiratorially.

Once again, he nodded. "On the lips." When her eyes widened and she urged him to continue, he did. He felt like such a gossiper at the moment. But, this was for the greater good. At least, that was what he told himself. "Koko wouldn't leave him alone, so Toph kissed him to make her go away."

"That was only to ward Koko off," Katara said. "No biggie, right?"

"It _would_ have been no biggie if it was the first time."

Katara began sputtering. "_What?!_ That wasn't- Do you mean to tell me- Those two- There was _another_ kiss?!"

He nodded.

She resumed her pacing. "When else could those two have possibly kissed? Toph has never told me about the _other_ kiss. She didn't even tell me about the kiss at the teashop!"

Zuko watched her worriedly. Maybe she wasn't the right candidate for the position of ally for _Operation: Taang_, after all. "Maybe she didn't think that the one at the teashop was that big of a deal. Aang didn't. But, the other one-"

"She probably won't talk about it unless she's asked," Katara finished for him. "Oh, man. Oh, _man_!" She stopped pacing. "Do you know what this _means_?!"

Zuko stuttered. "I-I'm not sure. Should I be afraid?"

"This means that Toph and Aang have _history_, Zuko!" She shook her head with a dazed grin. One of those grins that little girls got while watching a Disney princess movie.

Zuko gulped. He knew that Katara was passionate, but this was bordering on ridiculous. "You don't look too well-"

"Those two have history. _History_," she exclaimed, thinking of all the possibilities. "Those two, they've been friends for so long. They went through everything together. There's _so much_ that they've gone through together."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they had a couple of secrets between themselves that no one else knows about," Zuko suggested thoughtfully. If those two kept a kiss a secret and acted like the kiss at the teashop was normal, who knew what other skeletons those two had hidden in their closets? Zuko was impressed. Huh. Maybe Katara was good for _Operation: Taang_, after all. She was an excellent conspiracy theorist.

Katara nodded and ran a hand through her disheveled hair. "I wonder... I mean, I never thought about those two- Don't get me wrong, the thought of them together has crossed my mind before, but I always brushed it off because, you know, it's _them_. But, I really do wonder."

The sound of metal being screwed was heard.

_"Hey, guys! Funny story,"_ Aang's voice rang out. _"Toph and I just remembered that she can fix stuff!"_

_"Silly me," _Toph grunted out.

Zuko and Katara met each other's eyes before the latter spoke. "That's fine. Take your time."

If it was fine with Katara, then it was fine with Zuko. He really had no problem at all because, by the looks of it, he had successfully planted the Taang seed into Katara's mind. That was _one_ for #TeamZuko.

Soon enough, Toph fixed the door and released her victims. "Oops," she said as they gathered in the kitchen. She put the tools back into their rightful place in the box. "My bad."

"Of course, it was your bad, munchkin," Zuko replied flippantly as Aang handed him his phone. He checked the time. He was stuck in that bathroom for, almost, three hours.

"I swear," she grunted out as she attempted to place the toolbox onto the top shelf of the pantry. "You'll regret _-grunt- _all those stupid_ -grunt- _remarks."

With a shake of his head, Aang took the toolbox from her hands and placed it into the pantry with ease. "How'd you even get it the first time?"

Toph huffed. "I used a chair."

Katara kept her eyes on the troublesome duo the entire time. Zuko noticed. Which meant that his work there was done. "I think that's my cue to leave." He didn't miss that mumbled,_ "Good riddance." _He ignored it. "Later, guys."

Before Zuko could make his way to the door, Aang held a hand out. "Wait, I need a ride home. I took the bus here!" He ran after Zuko.

A faint, _"Is that nail polish?"_ was heard.

_"It's good luck,"_ followed before the door shut.

Toph watched Katara. The older woman had been quiet ever since she left the bathroom. Was she claustrophobic and Toph forgot that fact or something? "What's wrong? Did Zuko kiss your brains out while you guys were in there or something?"

Katara didn't even blush. Instead, she shook her head and sat on a stool. "It's funny that you would bring up kissing." She couldn't even beat around the bush with this one. "May I ask you a question?"

Toph furrowed her brows. What was up with her? Then, she nodded because frankly, Katara was worrying her. "Fine."

"Zuko told me that you and Aang kissed at the teashop," Katara began. "Is that true?"

Toph shrugged. "Yeah."

Zuko was right. She didn't think it was a big deal. "To make Koko leave him alone, right?"

Toph nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't a big deal. Just a kiss between best friends."

All right. Now, Katara was really confused. "I heard through the grapevine that you two kissed another time before, too."

This time, Toph raised a brow and crossed her arms. "I'm guessing that this grapevine is Zuko." When Katara hesitantly nodded, she pursed her lips. Several moments passed before she spoke. "Aang was my first kiss. We were nine. We saw some couple do it and we wanted to try it." She looked about ready to say something else. Then, she shook her head.

Katara blinked. As insignificant as the little factoid was, or as insignificant as Toph was attempting to make it out to be, Katara couldn't help but to feel intrusive. "I didn't know that Aang was your first kiss."

Toph raised a brow. "Now you do. Any more questions, _mom_?"

Katara rolled her eyes. Being called '_mom_' by Toph only meant that she was delving in a bit too deep for comfort. "I was just curious. But, if you're feeling talkative this evening, I'm all ears." It wasn't often that Toph would open up about anything. That spot was reserved for Aang. "Is there anything else you'd like to share?"

The corners of Toph's lips quirked up a bit. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Katara's jaw almost dropped. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means enough nosiness," Toph declared. "I have a test tomorrow. Are you going to help me study?"

Katara watched as Toph made her escape. She was probably going to go find her books to study, but that was definitely an escape. So, she stood and made her way to find Toph and help her study.

* * *

_**A/N: **_Conspiracies, and secrets, and missions. Oh, my!


End file.
